Are Soy Milk, Soy Protein, Tofu, and other Soybean-Based Foods Good

Are Soy Milk, Soy Protein, Tofu, and other Soybean-Based Foods Good For You?  Or are They Just Making You Fat and Un-healthy?

A look into some of the possible dangers and negative effects on your health of eating too much soy -- Can soy even increase belly fat?

I wanted to include this article because every day I see so many people that don't realize that soy is NOT A HEALTH FOOD!  Most people have been deceived and mislead by billions of dollars of advertising that soy protein, soy milk, soybean oil, and processed soy foods are "healthy"... when the truth is that soy has many anti-nutrients and negative factors on the body that we should be concerned about.

In fact, there is evidence that soy foods could possibly even INCREASE YOUR STOMACH FAT if you eat too much soy or too often.

Take a read below, and discover some unsettling facts about soy.

The Dark Side of Soy

Only a few decades ago, unfermented soybean foods were considered unfit to eat - even in Asia.  These days, people all over the world have been fooled into thinking that unfermented soy foods like soymilk and soy protein are somehow "health foods".  If they only knew the real truth!

The soybean did not serve as a food until the discovery of fermentation techniques, some time during the Chou Dynasty. The first soy foods were fermented products like tempeh, natto, miso and soy sauce.

At a later date, possibly in the 2nd century BC, Chinese scientists discovered that a puree of cooked soybeans could be precipitated with calcium sulfate or magnesium sulfate (plaster of Paris or Epsom salts) to make a smooth, pale curd - tofu or bean curd. The use of fermented and precipitated soy products soon spread to other parts of the Orient, notably Japan and Indonesia.

Growth-depressant compounds are deactivated during the process of fermentation, so once the Chinese discovered how to ferment the soybean, they began to incorporate soy foods into their diets.

The Chinese NEVER ate large amounts of unfermented soy foods or soymilk

The Chinese did not eat unfermented soybeans as they did other legumes such as lentils because the soybean contains large quantities of natural toxins or "antinutrients". First among them are potent enzyme inhibitors that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes vital for protein digestion.

These inhibitors are large, tightly folded proteins that are not completely deactivated during ordinary cooking. They can produce serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake. In test animals, diets high in trypsin inhibitors cause enlargement and pathological conditions of the pancreas, including cancer.

Soybeans also contain haemagglutinin, a clot-promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together. Trypsin inhibitors and haemagglutinin are growth inhibitors. Weaned rats fed soy containing these antinutrients fail to grow normally.

Soy also contains goitrogens - substances that depress thyroid function.

Although soy has been known to suppress thyroid function for over 60 years, and although scientists have identified the goitrogenic component of soy as the so-called "beneficial isoflavones", the industry insists that soy depresses thyroid function only in the absence of iodine.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham reports a case in which consumption of a soy protein dietary supplement decreased the absorption of thyroxine. The patient had undergone thyroid surgery and needed to take thyroid hormone. Higher oral doses of thyroid hormone were needed when she consumed soy -- she presumably used iodized salt so iodine intake did not prevent the goitrogenic effects of soy.

A very large percentage of soy is genetically modified and it also has one of the highest percentages of contamination by pesticides of any of our foods.

Soybeans are high in phytic acid, present in the bran or hulls of all seeds. Phytic acid is a substance that can block the uptake of essential minerals - calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc - in the intestinal tract.

The soybean has one of the highest phytate levels of any grain or legume that has been studied, and the phytates in soy are highly resistant to normal phytate-reducing techniques such as long, slow cooking. Only a long period of fermentation will significantly reduce the phytate content of soybeans.

When precipitated soy products like tofu are consumed with meat, the mineral-blocking effects of the phytates are reduced. The Japanese traditionally eat a small amount of tofu or miso as part of a mineral-rich fish broth, followed by a serving of meat or fish.

People who substitute tofu or bean curd for meat can get severe mineral deficiencies

Vegetarians who consume tofu and bean curd as a substitute for meat and dairy products risk severe mineral deficiencies. The results of calcium, magnesium and iron deficiency are well known; those of zinc are less well known, but equally as bad. Far far more healthy is to eat pure grass fed meats, cheese, and butter , all high in nutrients and protein rich.

Zinc is called the intelligence mineral because it is needed for optimal development and functioning of the brain and nervous system. It plays a role in protein synthesis and collagen formation; it is involved in the blood-sugar control mechanism and thus protects against diabetes; it is needed for a healthy reproductive system. Grass fed beef is very high in this necessary nutrient, in contrast to soy.

Soy processors have worked hard to get these anti-nutrients out of the finished soy product, particularly soy protein isolate (SPI) which is the key ingredient in most soy foods that imitate meat and dairy products, including baby formulas and some brands of soy milk.

Soy Protein Isolate is an Industrially Produced Food -- Far from Natural or Healthy!

SPI is not something you can make in your own kitchen. Production takes place in industrial factories where a slurry of soy beans is first mixed with an alkaline solution to remove fiber, then precipitated and separated using an acid wash and, finally, neutralized in an alkaline solution.

Acid washing in aluminum tanks leaches high levels of aluminum into the final product. The resultant curds are spray - dried at high temperatures to produce a high-protein powder. A final indignity to the original soybean is high-temperature, high-pressure extrusion processing of soy protein isolate to produce textured vegetable protein (TVP).
Nitrites, which are potent carcinogens, are formed during spray-drying, and a toxin called lysinoalanine is formed during alkaline processing.

In feeding experiments, the use of SPI increased requirements for vitamins E, K, D and B12 and created deficiency symptoms of calcium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid remaining in these soy products greatly inhibits zinc and iron absorption; test animals fed SPI develop enlarged organs, particularly the pancreas and thyroid gland, and increased deposition of fatty acids in the liver.

Yet soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein (TVP) are used extensively in school lunch programs, commercial baked goods, diet beverages  and fast food  products. They are heavily promoted in third world countries and form the basis of many food give-away programs.

Soy Protein Isolate was once considered a waste product (before they discovered they could make money promoting it as health food!)

Advances in technology make it possible to produce isolated soy protein from what was once considered a waste product - the defatted, high-protein soy chips - and then transform something that looks and smells terrible into products that can be consumed by human beings. Flavorings, preservatives, sweeteners, emulsifiers and synthetic nutrients have turned soy protein isolate, the food processors' ugly duckling, into a new age swan.

"The quickest way to gain product acceptability in the less affluent society," said an industry spokesman, "is to have the product consumed on its own merit in a more affluent society." So soy is now sold to the upscale consumer, not as a cheap, poverty food but as a miracle substance that will prevent heart disease and cancer, whisk away hot flushes, build strong bones and keep us forever young.  Or so they want you to believe!

The competition - meat, milk, cheese, butter and eggs - have been duly demonized by the appropriate government bodies. Soy serves as meat and milk for a new generation of virtuous vegetarians.

The soy industry hired Norman Robert Associates, a public relations firm, to get more soy products onto school menus. The USDA responded with a proposal to scrap the 30 per cent limit for soy in school lunches.

The 'NuMenu' program would allow unlimited use of soy in student meals. With soy added to hamburgers, tacos and lasagna, dieticians can get the total fat content below 30 per cent of calories, thereby conforming to government dictates. With the soy-enhanced food items, students are receiving better servings of nutrients and less cholesterol and fat, so says the soy industry.  We now know this to be a negative, rather than positive addition to their food supply.

You've been deceived into thinking Soy Milk is healthy

Soy milk has posted the biggest gains, soaring from $2 million in 1980 to $300 million in the US last year.  Recent advances in processing have transformed the gray, thin, bitter, beany-tasting Asian beverage into a product that Western consumers will accept - one that tastes like a milkshake, but without the "guilt"... they claim.

The long and demanding road to FDA approval actually took a few unexpected turns. The original petition, submitted by Protein Technology International, requested a health claim for isoflavones, the estrogen-like compounds found plentifully in soybeans, based on assertions that only soy protein that has been processed in a manner in which isoflavones are retained will result in cholesterol lowering.

In 1998, the FDA made the unprecedented move of rewriting PTI's petition, removing any reference to the phytoestrogens and substituting a claim for soy protein - a move that was in direct contradiction to the agency's regulations. The FDA is authorized to make rulings only on substances presented by petition.

Are soy isoflavones actually toxic?

The abrupt change in direction was no doubt due to the fact that a number of researchers, including scientists employed by the US Government, submitted documents indicating that isoflavones are toxic.

The FDA had also received, early in 1998, the final British Government report on phyto-estrogens, which failed to find much evidence of benefit and warned against potential adverse effects.

Even with the change to soy protein isolate, FDA bureaucrats engaged in the rigorous approval process were forced to deal nimbly with concerns about mineral blocking effects, enzyme inhibitors, goitrogenicity, endocrine disruption, reproductive problems and increased allergic reactions from consumption of soy products.

One of the strongest letters of protest came from Dr Dan Sheehan and Dr Daniel Doerge, government researchers at the National Center for Toxicological Research. Their pleas for warning labels were dismissed as unwarranted.

Research that ties soy to positive effects on cholesterol levels is incredibly immature, said Ronald M. Krauss, MD, head of the Molecular Medical Research Program and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He might have added that studies in which cholesterol levels were lowered through either diet or drugs have consistently resulted in a greater number of deaths in the treatment groups than in controls - deaths from stroke, cancer, intestinal disorders, accident and suicide.

Cholesterol-lowering measures in the US have fueled a $60 billion per year cholesterol-lowering industry , but have not saved us from the ravages of heart disease.

The health risks of soy are finally becoming known in the media

The media have not only questioned the health benefits of soy but begun reporting on the risks. In July, the Israeli Health Ministry warned that babies should not receive soy formula, that children should eat soy no more than once per day to a maximum of three times per week and that adults should exercise caution because of increased risk of breast cancer and adverse effects on fertility.

The Ministry based its advice upon the conclusions reached by a 13-member committee of nutritionists, oncologists, pediatricians and other specialists who spent more than year examining the evidence. They concluded that the estrogen-like plant hormones in soy can cause adverse effects on the human body and strongly urged consumers to minimize their consumption of soy foods until absolute safety has been proven.

Soy has the potential to disrupt the digestive, immune and neuroendocrine systems of the human body and its role in rising rates of infertility, hypothyroidism and some types of cancer including thyroid and pancreatic cancers.

Soy is also highly allergenic. Most experts now place soy protein among the top eight allergens of all foods, and some rate it in the top six or even top four. Allergic reactions to soy are increasingly common, ranging from mild to life threatening, and some fatalities have been reported.

People are finally starting to learn that soy is NOT a miracle health food, and more and more expert scientists are issuing warnings about soy.

I hope this article has convinced you to consider reducing or eliminating your consumption of soy foo

 

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Defeat Your Skinny Genetics and Own 2008

Defeat Your Skinny Genetics and Own 2008:
The 1 +1 Skinny Guy Transformation Program

 

It happens every year. The New Year comes and every scrawny twerp on the planet swears this is going to be the year that he slaps on an extra 20 pounds of muscle. But if you didn't pack it on successfully last year, what makes you think this year is going to be any different? Seriously?

Did you spend hours in the gym with no results? Did you spend the last year blindly following the muscle magazines only to look the same as you do now? Did you spend the year filling your body with mysterious supplements that only make you sick? Did you watch your friends train less than you but get twice as big? Sound familiar doesn't it? I thought so.

So the question is, how are we going to get a different result? The answer is simple. By doing something differently. Would you agree the best way to get the same thing is to do the same thing? And would you agree that the best way to get a different result is to do something different?

Give me a amen if you have decided that 2008 is going to be different. Give me a amen-hallelujah if you are prepared to be a different person and prepared to do something different this year. Commit to having your best year, and I'll take care of you, providing you with the best skinny guy transformation program.

My Own Skinny Guy Experience

Trust me, I know. I was a skinny beanpole all through high school and university and gained the nickname Skinny Vinny. I gawked at my room mates how displayed copious amounts of rock-hard brawn on there frame. I was inspired by the spectacular 'before and after' pictures in bodybuilding magazines. I read every piece of bodybuilding literature I could, got misguided by a slew of personal trainers, experimented with every legal supplement I could purchase, but despite my efforts, my 12 week pictures looked nothing like the supplement advertisements. The cruel scale needle stayed the same like it was cast in stone. Perhaps I was doomed to be skinny for life...

Skinny Guys Must Play By A Different Set Of Rules

As a weight training enthusiast, figuring out the most effective workout routine can become an endless source of confusion and frustration. Every single fitness expert and magazine has a different training theory or training angle which becomes more confusing than a trip for Jessica Simpson at Home Depot!

Most skinny guys end up using routines designed and touted by those freaky monsters seen in the hardcore rags who have more than a little chemistry lab going on inside of them. Programs that include hitting the gym more than five times a week, focusing on 1-2 exercises per workout, 12-24 sets per exercise and overemphasizing isolation-type exercises. None of these components of a program helps improve the underlying foundation of a hardgainers success. Training to get bigger and more muscular, that is - your best body ever, must revolve around getting stronger and I mean really, really stronger. Increasing your strength remains the rock-solid foundation for defeating your skinny genetics and getting a head-turning physique for 2008.

Since the vast array of exercise machines came on the market, along with infomercials, instant result programs, and fancy dressed supplement ads, people are no longer willing to spend the time in the gym to build the solid strength foundation that is critical for long-term progress. Since you've read this far, you won't be making that mistake this year!

Six Reasons Skinny Guys Must Focus On The Forgotten Factor: Strength

• Strength training is incredibly taxing on the body's central nervous system. Increasing your central nervous system's work capacity through heavy and/or explosive movements; you directly increase the ability of your muscular system to produce increased levels of strength.
• Strength training releases more growth hormone and testosterone. Using greater resistance loads than normal will release a greater abundance of these muscle building hormones necessary to maximize your genetic potential which will result in new muscle growth all over - especially on those lagging body parts!
• Strength training creates a platform to achieve more sets and reps. When you build a stronger foundation, your ability to handle heavier loads in the higher rep ranges will dramatically increase, resulting in some impressive muscular hypertrophy.
• Strength training benefits the smaller muscle groups as well. The pure strength movements do not just benefit the larger muscle groups such as the chest, back and legs but the smaller ones as well. An example: A skinny guy increases the amount of weight he can do on the bent over row from 135 to 225. The heavier poundages will result in significantly strengthening the assisting movers of the upper arm - brachialis and the brachioradialis - allowing him to curl much more weight on his curling exercises.
• Strength training involves the maximal amount of muscle fibers. To defeat your skinny genetics you must use the maximal number of muscle fibers in each set. Do you think lifting weights at 60-80% of your threshold is going to stimulate the maximal amount of muscle fiber? Think of your muscles as lazy. They would prefer to sleep this entire next year. They would prefer to stay small. They have zero interest in growing larger. That is something you want to do. The only reason they will wake up (get bigger) is if they are attacked. If they are exposed to an assault (heavy weight) they have not experienced before. Out of survival, your muscles will grow bigger to prevent the same assault from occurring again.
• Strength training does not eat up your precious calories. Unlike the 1-2 hour marathon training sessions that involve 12-24 exercises per body part or workout, strength training is much less demanding calorically. It does not burn up the calories your muscles need to grow because of the longer rests and shorter sets.
• Strength training leads to progressive overload. If you are thinking, "But I don't care how much I can lift. All I care about is not being skinny anymore and building a good physique. I'm not a power lifter or bodybuilder." I would reply that strength training is a fundamental principle of muscle growth because it leads to progressive overload. The only way to make a muscle grow is to subject it to unaccustomed stress. Progressive overload basically implies that when a muscle is subjected to an usual amount of unaccustomed stress and effort, the muscle must respond by getting larger to manage and cope with the new stress.

   

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Still Not Convinced That Strength Training Is The Answer To Your Best Body This Year?

How many people do you see with skinny arms that can curl 135 pounds? How many people do you see with no chest who bench press 275 pounds? How many people do you see with massive upper girdles that can dead lift 315 pounds? How many people do you see with chop-stick legs who can squat 400 pounds?I would say - not many. There are many more reasons why strength training will help you defeat your muscle unfriendly genes and get the body you deserve this year but I think you get the point. If ever in doubt, just take a look at the biggest guys in your gym. I bet they are lifting 3-4 more times the weight as you!

The 1 + 1 Skinny Guy Strength Program

Stage 1: 4 x 4 Strength Phase
Week 1-3

Monday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Back Squats	4 x 4	311	2-3 m
Bench Press	4 x 4	311	2-3 m
Bent Over Rows	4 x 4	311	2-3 m
Upright Rows	2 x 20	211	1 m
Calve Raises	2 x 20	211	1 m
Wednesday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Lunges	4 x 12-15	311	2-3 m
Stiff Leg Deadlifts	4 x 12-15	311	2-3 m
Dips	4 x failure	311	1 m
Chin Ups	4 x failure	311	1 m
Weighted Abdominal Work	3 x 30	211	1 m
Friday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Deadlifts	4 x 4	311	2-3 m
Military Presses	4 x 4	311	2-3 m
Wide Grip Pull Ups	4 x 4	311	2-3 m
Barbell Shrugs	2 x 20	211	1 m
Calve Raises	2 x 20	211	1 m

Stage 2 - 5 x 5 Strength Phase
Weeks 4-6

Monday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Back Squats	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Barbell Curls	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Barbell Shrugs	3 x 30	311	1 m
Calf raises	3 x 30	311	1 m
Tuesday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Dumbell Bench Presses	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Barbell Rows	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Dumbell Shoulder Presses	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Weighted Abdominal Work	3x 30	211	1 m
Thursday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Deadlifts	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Lunges	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Close Grip Presses	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Barbell Shrugs	3 x 30	311	1 m
Calve Raises	3 x 30	311	1 m
Thursday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Incline Bench Presses	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Seated Row	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Military Presses	5 x 5	311	2-3 m
Weighted Abdominal Work	3 x 30	211	1 m

Stage 3 - 6 x 6 Strength Phase
Weeks 7-9

Monday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Back Squats	6 x 6	311	2-3 m
Bench Press	6 x 6	311	2-3 m
Bent Over Rows	6 x 6	311	2-3 m
Upright Rows	3 x 15	311	1 m
Calve Raises	3 x 15	311	1 m
Wednesday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Lunges	4 x 8-12	311	2-3 m
Stiff Leg Deadlifts	4 x 8-12	311	2-3 m
Dips	4 x failure	311	1 m
Chin Ups	4 x failure	311	1 m
Weighted Abdominal Work	3 x 30	211	1 m
Friday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Deadlifts	6 x 6	311	2-3 m
Military Presses	6 x 6	311	2-3 m
Wide Grip Pull Ups	6 x 6	311	2-3 m
Barbell Shrugs	3 x 15	211	1 m
Calve Raises	3 x 15	211	1 m

Stage 4 - 7 x 7 Strength Phase
Weeks 9-12

Monday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Back Squats	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Barbell Curls	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Barbell Shrugs	3 x 30	311	1 m
Calf raises	3 x 30	311	1 m
Tuesday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Dumbell Bench Presses	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Barbell Rows	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Dumbell Shoulder Presses	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Weighted Abdominal Work	3 x 30	211	1 m
Thursday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Deadlifts	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Lunges	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Close Grip Presses	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Barbell Shrugs	3 x 30	311	1 m
Calve Raises	3 x 30	311	1 m
Friday
Exercise	Work Sets	Speed	Rest
Incline Bench Presses	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Seated Row	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Military Presses	7 x 7	311	2-3 m
Weighted Abdominal Work	2 x 20	211	1 m

 

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Weight Training Program Notes:

• You will notice Monday is a Quad Dominant day with Horizontal Pushing (Chest) and Horizontal Pulling (Rows). You will notice that Traps and Calves are opposite movements so have been paired up respectively.
• You will notice Friday is a Hip Dominant day with Vertical Pushing (Shoulders) and Vertical Pulling (Lats). You will notice Traps and Calves are opposite movements so have been paired up respectively.
• You will notice slight variation on some of the exercise selection. The exercise selection is not as critical as the load and set protocol. Feel free to tweak the exercises based on your personal preference. For example, if a Trap Bar Deadlift feels better for you than a normal Deadlift - go for it. If you know you will get better results with dumbell's instead of barbells - don't be afraid to follow your instincts and be involved in the training process.
• For some, the 6 x 6 phase and 7 x7 phase will be too much volume on muscle groups like biceps and triceps. Feel free to modify these to only 3-5 sets. The goal is to keep the weight the same the entire workout. If your weights start to drop than simply record the number of sets you were able to do and try to beat it next week.
• I am guessing 4 x 4 will be your first exposure to heavy lifting. Remember, next phase, you will be focusing on adding one extra rep to the same weight with one extra set hence the 1 + 1 Program. This program is based on increasing the amount of work you are capable of performing over a 12 week period.
  e.g. Let's say you can do 185 lbs for 4 x 4 in phase one. Next phase, you will be aiming to do 185 pounds for 5 x 5. You might even be able to slip a few extra pounds on the bar, depending on the rate that you super compensate which will be bonus.
• For time efficiency, opposing muscle groups like Shoulders and Lats, Chest and Rows and Shrugs and Calves can be super set together. I would not recommend super setting your legs. This is your personal choice though.
• The 2 x 20 and 2 x 30 are unique additions I have added from my own personal experience. I have found, generally, that skinny guys responds better to higher rep ranges for the calves and traps.
• You will notice that Monday and Friday can be classified as your Heavy days and Wednesday is an opportunity to increase your body weight strength and prevent your metabolic system from de-training. These higher rep exercises will counteract and help balance out the dominance of central nervous system training occurring.
• The weighted abdominal work should come from Hanging Leg Raises, Weighted Ball Sit Ups, or Cable Crunches.
• You will notice this is a three day program which will be alternated every three weeks with a four day program. I might suggest taking a ? week off at the six week mark if any symptoms of overtraining are suspected. Take at least one week off from the gym at the completion of this 12 week program.

Cardiovascular and Flexibility Training Tips

• During phases 1 and 3 while you are doing only three day of weight training per week I would recommend the following:
  • At least two or three 20-30 minute cardio sessions placed either on your non-workout days on immediately after you weight training workouts.
  • Use the form of cardio that, in your experience, holds the most muscle on your body. For some, this will mean doing shorter interval cardio sessions. For some, this will mean going for a easy run or swim.
  • Incorporate the cardio work to enhance your muscle gain goals - not detract. For example, you might benefit from a easy swim workout after a heavy upper body day. You might benefit from a easy bike ride to loosen up from a heavy lower body workout. Use common sense when choosing your cardio activities. For example, don't try out for the soccer team at the same time you are trying to transform your body!
  • Incorporate your cardio based on your nutrition intake. Remember, your muscles grow on calories so the more cardio you incorporate, the more overall calories you will need to counteract the lost.
  • Try to stretch at least ? the amount that you lift. Heavy lifting requires long and lengthened muscles to allow full range of motion. Shortened muscles perform weaker and slower and have a higher incidence of injury. If you are weight lifting 4 hours in the week, you should be stretching at least two. This means at least ? hour of stretching before or after you weight training workout. This is my personal recommendation, any less, and your body will screaming for a injury.

Take The Challenge

Give the 1 + 1 Skinny Guy Strength Program a honest effort for the next 12 weeks and commit to making 2008 the year that you defeat your skinny genetics and build a body you can be proud of without spending any more time in the gym than you have to. Believe that you can do it. It can be done and it will!

 

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Can This 1 Unique Spice Help to Fight Abdominal Fat?

This spice that I'm going to mention is one of the most overlooked, but healthiest spices in the world...

You might even call it a "fat burning spice"... in a roundabout way.

And yes, it can actually help you win the battle against abdominal fat if you use it daily...I'll explain why.

Here are some other benefits of this miracle spice:

• controls blood sugar levels
• helps maintain insulin sensitivity
• a VERY powerful antioxidant
• may have antibacterial and antifungal properties
• and dozens of other benefits

So what is this miracle spice that beats abdominal fat?

Well... it's good old tasty Cinnamon!

Although cinnamon does NOT directly increase fat burning (such as by increasing metabolic rate, etc), it CAN actually help you to burn off abdominal fat and get leaner in an indirect way.

Here's how...

Although cinnamon has dozens of health benefits, the main benefit that will help you to get leaner is through it's strong effect on controlling blood sugar levels in your body.

In a study published in 2003 in the medical journal Diabetes Care, groups were split into people taking 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon per day in capsule form (the equivalent of approx 1/4th to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon).

The results of the study showed that all 3 amounts of cinnamon reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 18-29% after 40 days.

Cinnamon can also increase insulin sensitivity, which essentially means that it is helping your body to control blood sugar while simultaneously allowing your body to produce less insulin.

As you know, chronically high insulin levels can make your body pack on the blubber.

How to harness cinnamon to lose stubborn belly fat...

One possible way to benefit from cinnamon to lose more fat is to use cinnamon daily in your meals when you can, such as in yogurt or cottage cheese, in smoothies, oatmeal, or anything else you can think of where it would go well.

Also, you could use a cinnamon capsule before each of your meals, particularly if you're going to have more than 30 grams of carbs in that meal.

This could help to control blood sugar and insulin response from your meals and thereby control your appetite and cravings throughout the day... hence, helping you to lose body fat more effectively over time.

So now you can see that not only is cinnamon a powerful antioxidant that can help you stay youthful longer, it can also help you to control blood sugar and get a leaner body!

 

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Does Diet Soda Make You Fat, or is it Really Good for Weight Loss?

We all know by now that soda (aka "pop" in some areas) is one of the most evil things you can put in your body... the nasty chemicals, the gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshipped by those that don't care about their health or body.

Since you're one of my subscribers, I know that you actually do care about your health and the appearance of your body.

Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that "diet" soda is in some way a good thing for losing body fat.  In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and only drink diet soda.

So let's set the record straight...

There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I've even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.

Here's some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read...

An excerpt from the study author:

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher." 

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

Ok, as if we didn't already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they're showing us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!

There's a lot of complicating factors as to why this occurs...

One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.

Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.

I've said this all along, but the bottom line is that if you're serious about your health and body, soda of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can't avoid them.

Another article I did about artificial sweeteners explains more of the problems with them and good substitutes

So what is a good alternative to diet sodas?

The best alternatives are good old water with lemon or unsweetened iced teas... you have plenty of options with teas - green, white, black, oolong, red... be creative in making your iced teas and you'll enjoy it more. Plus you'll get a more diverse array of antioxidants.

I just add a little of the natural non-caloric sweetener stevia to my iced teas and I love them. I get my stevia here .

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Engaging Customers with Facebook Applications

With the rapid advancement in the Internet and its increasing user presence, the medium has become a preferred means of communicating directly with customers. Among the most popular activities on the Internet is the voracious usage of social networking sites.

With its open architecture and wide range of functionalities, Facebook stands as the number one social networking site. There are many reasons for this cult followership of Facebook. The ease of use and dissemination of content, tagging of friends and related users on shared items is yet another great Facebook feature. Facebook also allows creation of secured groups and publicly available fan pages regarding your own brands.

The Facebook applications are its most popular components. Facebook has an open platform for web developers and programmers to create different applications to run applications from within its framework.

What is new about Facebook applications?

Until the option of applications was incorporated, the Facebook features were more about conventional social media usage, such as adding friends and creating groups pertaining to common interests and affiliations.

Applications initiated by Facebook expanded the function of the site toward more interesting features, which included social gaming, where you could include friends and even unknown participants from around the world. The big leap happened when Facebook opened its programming platform to developers around the world, who could develop applications and submit it to Facebook. These applications are made live for public usage once they are certified by Facebook.

How do applications help brand marketing?

On an average, a user would spend no more than a few seconds on the homepage or any other text rich section of a website. Similarly, on Facebook, text-based sections have their own limitations when it comes to holding attention of the users on the same page. That is where rich content and applications come into play.

A game, such as Scrabulous or UNO, on Facebook can engage a user for hours. Social games like Farmville have brought about a new genre of Social Gaming, which is the latest buzzword in gaming circles.

 

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For a brand, a Facebook application can serve as an effective tool to gather and engage captive audience for a longer stretch of time. Users hooked on a particular game or application on Facebook will stay with it until the completion of the game. Brands have smartly used the opportunity to insert their logos and branding very subtly in the game. Subtle messages like these are known to give more brand recall and attitude change compared to intrusive advertisements.

Much to the delight of a marketer, Facebook provides usage stats of subscribers, which gives insight into the profile of users that the brand attracts. This can be compared with the intended target audience of the brand, and campaign modifications can be done based on the findings. Unlike most surveys that are based on sample estimate, what you get to see here is a summary based on each and every user who has added the application.

Developing Applications for Your Brand
Unlike most other participative aspects of social media, developing applications for Facebook requires adequate programming knowledge. Facebook has its own set of guidelines for the creation and submission of applications. Developers working on the Facebook framework must be updated with the guidelines defined by the site for any application to run. Brand owners need to avail services of a developer who knows all the steps that go into the creation of successful Facebook applications to ensure that their brand makes its presence through one of the most engaging options available in online media.

 

 

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Here's a unique exercise to help flatten your stomach while driving

 

If you're already a reader of my Truth about Six Pack Abs manual , then you may already know this unique trick... it's basically a simple exercise that you can do anytime, anywhere to help get a flat stomach over time.

Now I will say that this exercise does NOT increase fat burning, but it CAN help to flatten your stomach by strengthening your deeper transversus abdominis muscles and hence "pulling in" a lazy stomach (aka beer belly or "pooch belly").

It involves doing an exercise called "ab vacuums".

I find it a good time to get in the habit of doing daily ab vacuums while driving on your daily commute or another time that would get you in the habit of doing them regularly.

(please make sure this doesn't distract you from driving safely... I find that it doesn't distract me at all...it's certainly much safer than driving while on the cell phone!)

Of course, ab vacuums can be done anywhere and don't have to be just for driving, but I've found that it helps me to remember to do them if I do them at a specific time when driving regularly.... this could be while driving home from the gym every time, or perhaps during your daily commute to work.

Ab vacuums are simple:

You can do ab vacuums pretty much anywhere, at any time.
You can do them standing, seated (such as in a car), kneeling in a four-point position, or even lying flat on the floor.

The movement is as simple as pulling your belly button in as far as you can by imagining you're trying to touch your belly button to your spine and holding for 10-20 seconds at a time.

Start by inhaling deeply. Then, as you exhale, start pulling the belly button in towards the spine and hold it there for 10-20 seconds while just taking short breaths. Repeat for several holds.

Get in the habit of doing this at least 4-5 days per week while driving somewhere and you may find that this helps to flatten your stomach more by strengthening the transversus abdominis muscle (the deep abdominal muscles beneath the rectus abdominis) if you previously had a "lazy belly".

Like I said, this exercise doesn't increase fat burning... it only helps to flatten a round stomach that has lazy deep ab muscles.

If you want a true "six pack abs" appearance, you obviously still need to burn off the body fat that covers your abs ... and that calls for a fully encompassing workout program (not just ab exercises), a strategic nutrition program, and the right mindset for success.

This idea of "ab vacuums" while driving is just one of the dozens of tips and tricks found inside my Truth about Six Pack Abs manual.  If you don't already have a copy, see what other readers are saying about Truth about Abs here

Or if you have questions whether the Truth about Abs program is right for you, go here

If you liked today's idea in this newsletter, feel free to email this link (or post this link to twitter or facebook) to any friends or family that may want to try these "ab vacuums" to get a flatter stomach.

 

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Health Warning: Can a Cell Phone Carried Regularly in Your Pocket Damage Your

A correlation between cell phone use and testicular cancer, reduced Testosterone levels, lowered seminal volume and sperm count?  Read on to see...

You've probably started hearing in the media about emerging studies showing possible correlations between heavy cell phone use and brain tumors.  But what not many people are talking about is the risk of carrying cell phones in our pockets for hours each day.  This is where it gets even more interesting and a little scary too!

First of all, to both guys and gals... read this article carefully, as it contains some potentially scary health issues related to cell phone use.  And although the examples are geared towards men's issues, I wouldn't trust that it's only men that can experience health issues from heavy cell phone use.

You're also going to want to pass this page on to your friends and family to help them protect their health, and the health of their "crotch"... sounds funny, I know...but this is serious business.

To start, I realize that some people simply don't believe that something as small as a cell phone can give off any radiation levels that could harm your health over time. But we're not talking about immediate harm... we're talking about long term harm from chronic use, which most of us in this day and age use cell phones or have them in our pockets daily.  

According to a recent article published on Yahoo Health, and a large health study conducted, the 2010 Interphone study...  "People who chatted via cell for just 30 minutes a day for 10 years saw their risk of glioma (the type of brain tumor that killed Ted Kennedy) rise 40 percent".

I feel like we are all currently in an inadvertent giant human guinea pig study right now with cell phone use.  Not purposely, but simply because cell phones (and another dangerous new phenomenon, our constant exposure to radiation from "wifi" and other wireless technologies) moved onto the scene so fast and infiltrated the entire population over the last 10 years.

Think about it... most of the population has only been using cell phones and wifi heavily for less than 10 years now... that's not a long enough time to know long term consequences (such as 15-30 year cancer risks) and most studies that supposedly "prove" the safety of cell phones have been funded by the telecom industry and have ridiculously low usage levels that they study. 

We're definitely finding that the average person has a cell phone either strapped to their ear or carried in a pocket for more hours per day than any studies have any definitive long-term safety data on.

As Tim Ferriss points out in his fascinating new book, The 4-Hour Body  ... "Most of the studies performed in the US that conclude no negative effect are funded either directly or indirectly (as with many IEEE studies) by cell phone manufacturers and carriers.  Does this prove malfeasance?  No, but it should raise a red flag."

One of the things that scares me about the possible harmful long term effects of carrying a cell phone in my pockets is potential testicular cancer.  I honestly feel that as the years go on, and we get to a level of chronic cell phone use where people have been carrying these things in their pockets for 10 or 15 years or more, we're going to see testicular cancer rates skyrocket.

But cancer risks are long term, and we may not have enough data from studies yet to prove definitive cancer risks such as testicular cancer.  So let's look at more current measurements that can prove health problems associated with cell phone use...

According to Tim Ferriss in his book, The 4-Hour Body  ... "Lo and behold, jumping from article to article on Medline, there were more than a handful of studies that showed significant decreases in serum testosterone in rats following even moderate exposure (30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks) to 900 megahertz radio frequency electro-magnetic fields (EMF), which is what most GSM cell phones produce."

Beyond lowering testosterone, can cell phones hurt your "swimmers"?

Tim did some more digging, but this time switched gears from just cell phone effects on lowering testosterone levels, and he began researching cell phone effects on sperm count and function. 

Tim continues, "Of the dozens of studies that I found, most done in Europe, more than 70% concluded the same thing: cell phone radiation impairs sperm function."

In The 4-Hour Body , Tim also presents the results of a study he read about male Wistar rats that were exposed to a mobile phone for 1 hour continuously per day for 28 days... the end result of the study was that the mobile phone exposure to the rats significantly reduced the % of motile sperm.  The conclusion was that mobile phones negatively affect semen quality and may impair male fertility.

Think about this... they were only exposed to the mobile phone radiation for 1 hour per day for 28 days, and showed negative effects on sperm count and function.... how many of us out there carry a cell phone in our pocket for like 8-10 hours every day!!!! 

Doesn't look good for our "boys", does it?

Now it gets even more interesting... It turns out that Tim first started researching the correlation between low sperm count and cell phone use because he went and got a sperm count test, and found out that his numbers were surprisingly low.

In Tim's words... "the lab results, which were available the afternoon after my session, put my sperm count on the low range of normal, borderline problematic. I couldn't believe it.  Assuming it was a lab mistake, I repeated the drill 3 weeks later and came back with an even lower count. The more tests I did over the next 12 months, the lower the results."

After Tim started researching the effects of cell phone use on sperm count, he realized that for years, he'd been carrying a cell phone in his pocket for about 12 hours per day, most days of the week.

So he decided to do a test...

For 11 weeks, Tim decided that he would no longer carry his cell phone in his pocket... or as he puts it "my phone was no longer allowed to cuddle with my testicles". 

Instead, he kept the phone on the other side of the room if working at home, or if he had to go somewhere, he kept his phone either strapped to his arm with an ipod armband, or in a backpack pocket.  If he had to carry it in his pocket, he turned it off, and only turned it back on occasionally to check messages.

He actually performed this test for 11 weeks for a specific reason... sperm production takes an estimated 64 days in humans... so he wanted to wait that long, plus an extra 2 weeks for buffer.

The results of the 11 week "no-cell-phone-in-the-pocket" test:

The numbers are shocking...

• Ejaculate volume:  44% increase
• Motile sperm per milliliter:  100% increase
• Motile sperm per ejaculate:  185% increase

Now Tim admits that his study wasn't perfect, as there may have been other influences that weren't accounted for, such as his diet not being exactly the same during each time period.  However, he feels confident enough that these results speak for themselves.... after all, the results are pretty significant!

Personally, cell phone health issues is also a topic I've been reading a good deal about in the last couple of years.  Whether there's any conclusive evidence of cancer risk from cell phones, perhaps that's still to be determined... but I think we have significant evidence that cell phone use (and particularly carrying it in the pocket) can reduce both Testosterone levels (not good!) and also reduce sperm count and function (also scary!).

And please guys... don't start carrying around 2 cell phones in each pocket as a form of birth control!  All jokes aside, remember that there are possible bigger implications to this than just reduced sperm count... we're talking lower testosterone levels, possible increased cancer risk, etc.

What about women?  Please ladies, I wouldn't trust that health issues are only happening to men... I'm sure there are complications that can happen to women too...so beware ladies!

In fact, on the recent Yahoo Health article, according to David Carpenter, M.D., director of the Institute for Health and Environment at the University at Albany (regarding carrying cell phones near the pelvis, or using laptops on the lap), "For women, the studies aren't quite there yet, but I think we can say that anything that might cause cancer almost always causes birth defects, so pregnant women—or those wanting to become pregnant soon—should take extra precautions."

What I've done to help protect myself from these risks is this:

1. When I'm at home, I keep my cell phone on the other side of my home office, or in another room.  I try not to keep it anywhere near me most of the day.  If I get a call, I simply get up and answer it, the same way that we used to have to walk across the room to answer a phone before the days of mobile phones!

2. In my car, I keep my phone off of my body and put it in the front console or the passenger seat if I don't have a passenger.  The farther away from your body, the better.

3. When I go to the gym, go hiking, biking, etc... I leave that sucker in the car!  I don't want it on my body any longer than it has to be.  After all, I think a LOT of us need to learn how to not be a slave to our cell phones.  The texts and voicemails will be waiting when you're done your hike or your gym workout...don't be a slave to your phone!

4. If I absolutely must carry my cell phone on me, such as if I'm meeting friends out and need to be able to contact them... well, in that case, I simply try to keep the phone out of my pocket as much as possible... if we're at a restaurant, I put the phone on the edge of the table instead of in my pocket, or I just turn it off if I no longer need to get in touch with friends.

5.  Remember that EMF dangers aren't only with cell phones...it also occurs with Wifi, and other wireless devices.  So I also try to never use my laptop on my lap... If I'm at an airport, I usually try to find a table to sit at, so the laptop isn't actually sitting on my "junk".  Also, if possible, I try to use a wired internet connection (ethernet) instead of Wifi or mobile broadband.  In my house, I've also switched to a wired internet connection and gotten rid of the wireless router altogether.

With all of this said, will I ever give up my cell phone?

Well, let's be realistic...the cell phone has become an important part of our lives, and most of us aren't willing to give it up.  However, I plan to take the 5 steps that I listed above to minimize my risk.

I hope you take this issue as seriously as it should be taken.  It's time most of us wake up and realize that we are all inadvertently involving ourselves in a giant human guinea pig study on the risks of chronic cell phone and wifi use.

 

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How to Make Exercise Fun Again -- If You Don't Enjoy it, You Won't Stick to it

I was talking to someone recently that basically told me that he was motivated to get in shape, but at the same time he hates working out. He wanted to figure out ways to enjoy working out more so that he could stick with it for once, since he always ends up quitting after several weeks.

This brings up a good point, as most people that keep giving up on exercise are often the ones that don't enjoy it. From my perspective, I don't understand this problem as I love almost any form of exercise and get true enjoyment out of it.

This goes beyond just your typical weight lifting and cardio routines also. You really do need to find forms of exercise you enjoy and that are fun for you if you're really going to stick with them for the long term.

For example, in the last 6 days, here are some of the activities I've done that are loads of fun, but also keep me in great shape...

Friday - mountain biking (mix of hard climbs and fast fun downhills)

Saturday - kayaking (good upper body workout)

Sunday - another mountain biking trip

Monday - traveling so didn't have access to gym... just did about a 10 minute workout of bodyweight exercises in room -- pushups variations, 1-legged romanian deadlifts, & abs leg thrusts alternated constantly

Tuesday - 35 minute swimming workout (sprint style)

Wednesday - 45 minute full body weight training workout

I'll probably take tomorrow off to rest the body a little, and possibly do a kettlebell and/or hill sprinting workout on friday.

So you can see that for me, I always find ways to enjoy exercise, stay active, and at least during the nice weather, get out and enjoy some fresh air.

Everybody is different, but for long term success, you must find ways to incorporate exercise into your life that you actually enjoy. If you dread your workouts and think negatively about them, you're more likely to skip workouts or even quit altogether.

Here's an article I did previously that gives 15 of my favorite and unique workout styles to give you some more ideas:

15 Unique Workout Ideas to Get to the Next Level in Fitness

Enjoy!

 

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Is Sun Exposure Really "Deadly" as the Media Would Have You Believe

Is Sun Exposure Really "Deadly" as the Media Would Have You Believe?  Or Can Regular Sunshine Give You a Better Body and Health?

-the sun's "deadly rays" or "healthy rays"?

One thing that never made sense to me over the years was how the media and other sources have always tried to portray sun exposure as "the sun's deadly rays". It's as if they would have you believe that we need to live in caves and never see the sun to prevent cancer and stay in good health.

But this is absurd if you think about it... the sun is THE provider of all life on earth. Without the sun, everything on earth would die.

Throughout the majority of human existence (with the exception of the last few decades), humans have always spent more time outdoors than indoors. Nowadays however, most of us are trapped inside offices all week long and might only get out into the sun once a week, if that.

I've been doing a lot of reading and research over the last couple of years regarding sun exposure, cancer, vitamin D levels, etc. This subject of the sun and natural production of vitamin D can fill entire books, so I'll try to summarize my opinions and what I've learned in the past few years through a lot of my reading.

Don't worry, I'm not ignoring the fact that overexposure to the sun CAN cause problems, including cancer... but we need to also consider the fact that underexposure to the sun can have problems as well. 

Let's look at a few points to consider:

1. Non-consistent sun exposure and infrequent SUNBURNS is the major cause of damage to the skin and increased risk of cancer... Think about your typical person that sits inside an office all week long without ever seeing the sun, and then gets FRIED at the pool or the beach on the weekend. THIS is where the damage occurs.

2. Regular consistent small amounts of exposure to the sun (without burning) can actually have a protective effect on the skin, increases healthful Vitamin D levels in the body, and can improve mood, help depression, and dozens of other benefits.  Each individual's skin pigmentation determines what amount of sun exposure they can safely obtain without doing more harm than good.

For example, a very fair-skinned person with a far northern heritage might only be able to get 10-15 minutes of sun exposure over the majority of the body during peak hours before it does more harm than good.  However, someone with darker skin and a heritage that originated closer to the equator might be able to get much longer periods of regular sun exposure without doing more harm than good.

3. Increasing Vitamin D levels from regular small doses of sunshine can actually decrease cancer risk. Vitamin D itself has been shown to have a protective effect through various processes in the body.

4. This one is interesting and deserves some thought -- According to Dr William Grant, a Vitamin D researcher, cancer rates in those living at high latitudes (farther north) such as Iceland are approximately 4 TIMES the cancer rates of those living at lower latitudes (closer to the equator) in the tropics. 

Hmm, yet those people living in the tropics are getting MUCH higher levels of those so-called "deadly sun rays"... but they are also producing higher levels of protective Vitamin D on average too.

5. Vitamin D is actually produced into a hormone in our bodies and regulates hundreds of processes in the body, and is WAY MORE important to almost every single aspect of your health than most people realize. There is even evidence that due to the regulation of so many hormonal processes in our bodies that can be affected by Vitamin D, producing enough Vitamin D in your body can even help with fat loss, muscle building, blood sugar control, and hundreds of other factors.

6. It is hard to obtain enough Vitamin D from dietary sources alone (egg yolks, organ meats, and fatty fish are good sources, but still relatively small). The best utilized source of Vitamin D is what we produce in our bodies from moderate regular sun exposure over large portions of the body without burning.  It's vitally important to note that the UV-B rays are only strong enough to trigger vitamin D production in your body between the hours of approximately 10am to 3pm.  Of course, this is the exact time that well-meaning, but uneducated "health experts" erroneously tell you to stay out of the sun. 

UV-B rays aren't strong enough in the early morning or late afternoon to trigger vitamin D production, so you must get moderate exposure over large portions of your body for small amounts of time (10-30 minutes depending on skin pigmentation) in the middle of the day to reap the benefit of Vitamin D production.

7. An antioxidant-rich diet can help to protect the skin (to an extent) from damage if you get too much sun exposure. This means that getting lots of antioxidants from things such as various teas (green, black, white, rooibos, yerba mate, chammomile, etc), various berries, fruits, vegetables, beta carotene, nuts, olive oil, etc, etc can help to protect your skin. Make sure to pick up some Prograde Longevity - a super high ORAC antioxidant blend that I take to help increase my antioxidant levels in the body.

8. Another point that proves that irregular burning is the major cause of damage and not regular small doses of sunshine... Rates of skin cancer are typically higher in areas of the body that get irregular sun and occasional burning as opposed to areas of the body that have received consistent sun for your entire life.

Notice how more cancer is often found on the back and chest (places that get irregular sun and more burning) vs the back of the neck or the forearms (which get consistent regular sun for most people our entire lives).  There are exceptions to everything, but this seems to be a common trend.

9.  I've come across studies over the last few years that indicated skin caner rates are higher among indoor office workers compared to outdoor workers. This is yet another interesting trend... it basically supports the conclusion that being underexposed to sunlight most of the time (working inside an office all week long) and then getting infrequent overexposure to the sun is a lot more problematic compared to an outdoor worker that gets regular daily sun exposure.

Of course, the indoor worker can always avoid this problem by getting outside for 10-20 minutes daily during breaks to get those protective small daily doses of sunshine that we've been talking about here.

10. Think about this issue in terms of common sense -- Don't you feel a heck of a lot better and more energetic when you've at least gotten out in the sun for 20 or 30 minutes in a day rather than being stuck inside all day?

So what's the best way to do this in a healthy way while minimizing sun overexposure risk?

a. In the winter in northern latitudes (above approx South Carolina latitudes in the US), your vitamin D levels may fall to dangerously low levels if you go for several months without getting any sun.  In winter, since your body will not be producing enough Vitamin D from the sun, you need to make sure to increase your intake in your diet... as I mentioned, fatty fish, egg yolks , and organ meats are some of the best dietary sources of vitamin D, but still generally don't increase your body's vitamin D levels that much.

I like to take a small amount of daily cod liver oil in the deepest months of winter to make sure my Vitamin D levels don't go too low. You also need to be careful not to take too much cod liver oil though as some scientists believe that excessive amounts of cod liver oil can give you overdoses of vitamin A. 

Also, the source of vitamin D used in VGF-25 whole-foods based vitamin is a good natural form of vitamin D derived from fish liver oil.  I would use this daily to make sure that your vitamin D levels are adequate, even in summer months, if you don't get daily sun exposure in the summer.

b. In the spring, try to start with just small periods in the sun such as 10-15 minutes/day over large portions of your body (not just your hands and face). The more skin surface exposed to the sun, the more vitamin D that your body will produce.  Make sure to try to NEVER get a sunburn!  Gradual small doses of sunshine over a large part of your body almost daily helps your body produce the most beneficial and protective Vitamin D levels. 

c. Avoid extended periods of overexposure to the sun on large portions of your body... If you're going to be out for several hours or an entire day in the sun, you'll still need to make sure to cover up appropriately (based on your individual skin pigmentation and sensitivity) to prevent burning and skin damage... remember that we're talking about regular small doses of sunshine that is beneficial, not entire days out in the sun without covering up.

Warning about sunscreens:

I would caution against relying heavily on chemical-based sunscreens as most of the chemicals used in sunscreens are potentially carcinogenic and are also known to be estrogenic, as they absorb through your skin and into your body.  If you're going to use a lotion based sunblock, you're best bet is a natural form that uses zinc oxide or titanium dioxide... These are natural sunblocks that don't absorb into your skin, but rather sit on top of the skin's surface and block the rays.  This is a big difference compared to the harmful chemicals that are in most sunscreens and can absorb through your skin (various benzones, homosalate, etc).  If you want to read more about the dangers of chemical sunscreens, this article will help.

d. Load up on antioxidant-rich foods such as various teas, fruits and veggies, berries, etc daily to help prevent free radical damage and protect your skin. 

I think one of the most powerful and synergistic antioxidant blends available is here  if you want some extra insurance on antioxidants.

e.  Lastly, I'm not a doctor, so many of the points in this article are my opinions based on years of reading and research. Make sure to consult with your doctor on your individual health characteristics and how this relates to sun exposure and vitamin D.

f.  Also make sure to read this article, as it shows a way to eat a nutrient for "internal sun protection" which can allow you to stay in the sun longer without damage to skin.

 

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