Ben Hirshberg - Health and Flourishing

The Benefits of Walking with Dr. Mike Evans

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:21:26 GMT

Dr. Mike Evans is a family Physician who practices out of Toronto, and talks about his favorite preventative medicine at www.myfavouritemedicine.com. Evans says that he is often asked what the single best thing is that people can do to improve their health. He decided to answer the question in video format, and his video was so informative and engaging that it went viral! Evans says that walking for thirty minutes a day is the best thing people can do to keep themselves healthy. I think his answer really underscores the importance and impressive benefits of low intensity movement.

Evans cites some impressive figures in his video. I understood that moving at a low intensity can be very health promoting, but even my high expectations were surpassed by some of the studies Evans references. It turns out that...

Patients with knee arthritis who walked for three hours a week reduced their levels of pain and disability by 47%
In older patients walking reduced progression to dementia and Alzheimer´s by around 50%
For patients in high risk of diabetes when coupled with other lifestyle interventions, walking reduced progression to frank diabetes by 58%
Post menopausal women who walked four hours a week had a 41% reduction on the risk of hip fracture
One big meta analysis found that walking reduced anxiety by 48%
30% of patients suffering from depression were relieved by a small amount of walking, and 47% were relieved when the patients increased that amount of time spend walking
In one nurse's health study, when woman started walking just an hour a week, their risk of heart disease was nearly cut by 50%
Following over 10,000 Harvard alumni for over 12 years, the people who walked had a 23% lower mortality rate than the people who did not walk
Walking is the most effective treatment for fatigue

Evans also makes the important point that cardio respiratory fitness is the most important predictor of death. He reached this conclusion from Steven Blair's work, who is a professor at the University of South Carolina. Blair took data from the over 50,000 person Aerobic Centre Longitudinal Study and found that a low level of cardio respiratory fitness was the biggest predictor for mortality.

Although dying at a much lower rate is a great benefit of doing some type of low level movement like walking, the improvement in quality of life is very evident as well. Decreased disease rates, increased mobility, improved mood, decreased worry, etc. are all amazing benefits that should not be scoffed at. If there were any drug that was as effective as a thirty minute daily walk it would be worth more money than I can even imagine. Seeing as no such thing currently exists, it is wise to find a form of low level movement that is enjoyable for you.

I think looking at the opportunity cost of walking is important when reading these statistics. If the people were not walking, they would most likely be doing something sedentary. By now it is well known that spending too much time sitting is not likely to bode well for one's health. So while walking surely is wonderful for a person's well being, at least a small part of that benefit is simply spending less time on the sofa.

Evans, Mike. "23 and 1/2 Hours: What Is the Single Best Thing We Can Do for Our Health?"YouTube. N.p., 02 Dec. 2011. Web. .

Paleo/Primal Chocolate

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:39:41 GMT

I enjoy chocolate, and love all of the health benefits that chocolate possesses. Unfortunately I've run into a catch twenty two when it comes to chocolate: the stuff I like isn't healthy and the stuff that is healthy I'm not thrilled with. Dark chocolate I buy in stores just doesn't do it for me like the Hershey's bars of my childhood. But of course Hershey's bars are not going to do my health any good. So, I decided why not try and make my own chocolate?

Once I got started, I couldn't stop. And after thirty seven recipes I decided to make an eBook out of it. I used 100% pure cocoa powder, grass-fed butter, vanilla extract, and my sweetener of choice, honey. The recipes were delicious and nourishing! I decided to get adventurous and try making goat cheese, sunbutter, and even bacon chocolate. The recipe below is what the top picture is, and is one of my favorites:

Raspberry Ribbon

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
2/3 cup fresh raspberries

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in medium sauce pan over low heat.
2. Once butter is completely melted, mix in cocoa powder, vanilla extract, sea salt, and honey. Stir constantly until a thick, homogeneous texture is achieved.
3. Stir the chocolate mixture rapidly for another thirty seconds. Be careful not to overcook or the chocolate will burn. Remove from heat.
4. Fold in fresh raspberries.
5. While mixture is still warm spread smoothly over a sheet of wax paper. Let stand until firm. For harder chocolate keep in refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

Try the recipe out, I'll be shocked if you don't love it! If you want to learn more about the eBook, check out The Paleo Chocolate Cookbook

Interesting Tidbits From Linda Bacon

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:42:37 GMT

One of my favorite books that I’ve read this year has undoubtedly been Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon. Her main message in the book is that body fat and those who have a lot of it have been unfairly demonized by society. The book is not perfect, and when she talks about nutrition I definitely have a few bones to pick, but taken as a whole I think Health at Every Size is spot on and could help a lot of folks with their health. Besides talking about the unfortunate stigma around body fat, Bacon gives a number of interesting and useful tidbits regarding eating habits and how they relate to nutrient absorption, satiety, and overeating. Here are seven of my favorites:

Restrained Eating, Hunger, and Satiety

It is common for many people to rely on external cues to regulate their eating, called restrained eating. Examples of retrained eating: went to the gym and ate a cookie afterward, read about intermittent fasting and decided not to eat all morning, saw a high number on the scale and decided to skip dinner etc. It turns out that restrained eaters are much less sensitive to hunger and fullness signals than unrestrained eaters, and as a result it takes much more food deprivation for them to feel hungry and much more food eaten for them to feel full.

Instead of relying on external cues to regulate eating, it makes much more sense to rely on our innate signals that have kept our race alive and thriving for so many years! Another common terminology used for this is Intuitive Eating, which basically means listening to your body and eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. Easier than it sounds in our world full of external cues, but definitely a skill worth practicing.

Food Restriction and Overeating

People with a dieting mentality tend to binge eat more than unrestricted eaters. Bacon hypothesizes this is because placing restrictions on food causes eaters to continue looking for satisfaction through foods that do not meet their true desires.

This is another reason to eat intuitively, and eat what your body wants. As a note aside from Health at Every Size, it seems like food cravings and “additions” come from food restriction. So by eating unrestricted the body seems to be much more easily pleased, and less likely to continually be hungry.

Mindful Eating and Digestion

30-40 percent of one’s total physical response to a meal occurs when the body’s senses are used to investigate the food being eaten. This means that the body will process the food better when the senses are actually used, and the eater is paying full attention to the food.

This hypothesis was tested on twenty four college students, and the results were as expected. Digestion was significantly worse when watching a movie then when eating undistracted. So to help the body get the fullness signals and nutrients from food a good tip is to eat without too much distraction. I think that conversation over a meal is great, as you can return focus to your bite during gaps in the discussion. But watching TV or driving while eating is not conducive to the body’s digestive processes working properly!

Peaceful Eating and Nutrient Absorption

When eating in a stressful environment, sometimes I just don’t feel like I am getting the most out of my meal. It turns out there is some truth to that feeling. When study participants consumed a mineral drink in a comfortable setting, they completely absorbed the minerals. However, when two people simultaneously talked in each of their ears, the mineral absorption did not happen. The study participants’ mineral absorption went from 100% to 0%!

A comfortable eating environment should not be underestimated. Eating a meal at the family dinner table or on a picnic blanket sounds peaceful, while scarfing down a sack lunch on the subway does not.

Understanding When to Eat in Relation to Hunger

Bacon suggests that people keep tabs on how hungry they are and then how they eat when they are at a certain hunger level. Some people never let themselves get hungry because they are constantly snacking, and some people wait until they are starving to eat and then overeat because of their ravenous state.

Being mindful about food is a smart thing to do anyway, and understanding how our hunger system affects our eating pattern makes sense. Some folks like to keep a food diary, but I think just being cognizant is good too.

Pleasure and Nutrient Absorption

When I eat a really satisfying meal, I feel good afterwards. It turns out that I may be getting more nutrition from the foods I enjoy as well. When researchers fed a traditional Thai meal to Thai women and Swedish women, the Swedish women absorbed only half as much of some nutrients. This is significant because the Thai women enjoyed the food much more than their Swedish counterparts.

What happened to the Thai women’s nutrient absorption when the meal was blended into a homogenous mess? Their absorption of certain nutrients dropped by as much as 70 percent!

Don’t feel guilty when enjoying your favorite foods, and make sure to make meals that you enjoy. You just may get more bang for your nutritional buck in addition to the pleasure derived from the food!

Many Nutrients are Fat Soluble, so Include Some Fat with Meals

Many nutrients are fat soluble, meaning they are absorbed by the body only if consumed with fats. Due to this, you’d think that fat-free products would be less popular than they are. How big is the impact of fats on nutrient absorption?

When salad eaters put avocado in their salads they absorb ten times more carotenoids than those who eat their salads without any fats. Additionally, when avocado is added to salsas, more than four times as much lycopene is absorbed.

Because of examples like these, it is smart to include at least some fat source with every meal. Don’t let those valuable micronutrients go to waste!

Bacon, Linda. Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight. Dallas, TX: BenBella, 2010. Print.

Why Study Health?

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 18:23:52 GMT

Many people in our modern, advanced civilization are sick. There is a lot of preventable ill, both mental and physical. This is in spite of all of the money and brains put towards preventing and curing disease. Even with all of our intelligent doctors, expensive pills, and nutrition research, our people are not nearly as healthy as many groups of people who live societies that are less wealthy and educated.

The following statistics illustrate the well-being of Americans, but other modern societies follow similar patterns. The large amount of room for improvement in our world’s well-being gives me inspiration to study health in hopes of changing these numbers for the better.

Chronic Diseases

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, taking about 600,000 lives every year.

Each year nearly 800,000 have a stroke in the US, killing almost 130,000.
More than 500,000 Americans die from cancer each year and 11 million live with a previous diagnosis of cancer.
Nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes, 7.6% of the population.
One out of every five adults has arthritis, the Nation’s most common cause of disability.
More than 90% of adults in the US have experienced tooth decay.

A Country in Pain

77% of Americans experience pain which splits into the follow categories: 19% chronic, 34% recurring, and 44% short-term pain.
Of those who are in pain, 37% rate it as mild, 42% rate it as moderate, and 20% rate it as severe.
The back is the most common site of the pain, affecting one in four Americans.
Knee pain is second most common, at 12%, followed by head/migraine at 12%, shoulder at 7%, and leg at 7%.

Mental Illness

Nearly one in ten American adults has a mood disorder.
About 7% of US adults suffer from major depressive disorder, the most common mood disorder.
2.6% of US adults have bipolar disorder.
Over 18% of US adults have an anxiety disorder.
Nearly 7% of US adults have a social phobia.
4.4% of Americans will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime.
4.1% of American adults have ADHD.
Over 9% of American adults have a diagnosable personality disorder, such as antisocial personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

Maybe some disorders are over-diagnosed, and maybe some are underdiagnosed. But just seeing the amount of ills that people face shows the general level of wellbeing in the US. Many of us in the United States are very privileged and have an abundance to be thankful for. But when it comes to our health, there is a lot we can and should improve on.

LANGER, Gary. "Poll: Americans Searching for Pain Relief." ABC News. ABC News Network, 09 May 2005. Web. .
"The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America." NIMH RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. .
"Power of Prevention." CDC. N.p., 2009. Web. .

Health, Fitness, and Body Composition are Not the Same Thing!

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 01:38:19 GMT

This is a picture of Jim Fixx. Fixx is largely credited with the popularity of running and fitness in the United States due to his bestselling book Complete Book of Running. He was an incredibly fit man, able to run eighty miles per week and complete marathons. Fixx also had an excellent body composition, appearing lean and muscularly defined. Unfortunately, Fixx was not in good health and died while running at age 52, suffering from a heart attack. An autopsy revealed that three of his coronary arteries were more than 70% obstructed, and one of his arteries was 99% blocked.

The example of Jim Fixx is used to point out that health, fitness, and body composition are three completely separate entities. All three interact; meaning that one's health can affect one's fitness, but that one's health is not the same as one's fitness. The same is true with body composition. Being able to run up and down a soccer field without getting tired does not make one healthy, and neither does a single digit body fat percentage. This has been seen in several epidemiological studies.

A 2012 study published in the European Heart Journal found that obese folks who had similar blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and exercise habits to their normally weighted peers were at no higher of a risk for developing or dying from a heart attack. The implication of this research is that body composition is not as significant of a risk factor for heart disease and cancer as the aforementioned variables.

On the other hand, a 2012 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that diabetics of a normal weight were nearly twice as likely as obese diabetics to die in a given year (1.5% compared with 2.8%). This finding held true even when taking into account risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and smoking.

This is not to suggest being obese is healthy. The point I am trying to make is that body composition exists independent of health. Fitness and health have a similar relationship; they interact but are independent of each other. There is also epidemiological data to support the independence of their relationship.

A 1990 study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise examined the relationship between weekly energy expenditure through aerobic exercise and hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The subjects were divided into six groups: 0 calories expended (group 1), 1-399 calories expended (group 2), 400-899 calories expended (group 3), 900-1499 calories expended (group 4), 1500-2499 calories expended (group 5), and 2500+ calories expended (group 6). Group 1 and group 6 had the highest rates of both hypertension and cardiovascular disease, suggesting that at some point aerobic exercise stops being beneficial for one's health.

More recent data seems to bolster this suggestion. Research presented in June 2012 at the American College of Sports Medicine found that those who ran at a 7 minutes/mile pace or more than 20 miles/week were at a higher risk of mortality than those who ran at a 10 or 11 minutes/mile pace or 10-20 miles/week.

In the confusing world of health, fitness, and body composition, the three terms seem to have taken on the same meaning. This is incorrect, as all three terms are independent of each other. Accordingly, it would be helpful for each term to be defined. My favorite definitions for each are as follows:

Health: A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.

Fitness: Physiologically being able to handle challenges above rest.

Body Composition: The proportion of muscle, bone, and fat in a human body.

Now that the above terms have been given separate definitions, they can be treated appropriately. Don’t run hundreds of wind sprints each week if you are trying to better your health. Don’t attempt a six pack if your goal is minimizing disease risk factors. Health, fitness, and body composition are not the same thing!

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Can You Be Fat and Fit." Time. N.p., 5 Sept. 2012. Web. .
Park, Alice. "‘Obesity Paradox’: Why Being Thin with Diabetes Is a Dangerous Combo | TIME.com." Time, n.d. Web. 8 Aug. 2012. .
Quinn, TJ, HW Olson, WD Van Huss, and HA Sprague. "Caloric Expenditure, Life Status, and Disease in Former Male Athletes and Non-athletes." Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise (1990): n. pag. NCBI. Web. .
Reynolds, Gretchen. "Moderation as the Sweet Spot for Exercise." Well. The New York Times, n.d. Web. 6 June 2012. .

F.lux, Big Stretch, and Managing Sedentary Screen Time

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:04:26 GMT

Many of us who live in modern societies spend too much time being sedentary. We sit at work, we sit at school, we sit during our commute, and we sit during our leisure time when we read, watch TV, and use the computer. The last one is my Achilles heel, as it is not uncommon for me to spend hours at a time in front of a computer screen. There are two free computer applications that I use which mitigate the consequences of my computer use.

The first application is called F.lux (Download F.lux for free here: http://stereopsis.com/flux/). F.lux changes the color temperature of your computer screen relative to where the sun is in your location, which you enter into F.lux after downloading the program. Rather than changing the screen’s brightness, F.lux changes the color temperature, which is measured in Kelvins. The higher the color temperature, the more blue light the color contains. Midday sun is about 6500K, and a candle is about 1800K. F.lux makes your computer screen match your surroundings, so when it is midnight you are not looking at the color temperature equivalent of sunny afternoon.

The problem with looking at a high color temperature late at night is that it inhibits your body’s ability to produce melatonin, a hormone what makes you tired at night. Looking at blue light is great during the day, but at night it will throw your circadian rhythm off and disrupt your sleep! A lower color temperature is also easier on the eyes, although if you need to do color sensitive work F.lux can be disabled easily. F.lux is a nice tool to use that lowers your central nervous system activity before bed and minimizes the negative effects late night computer use has on sleep.

The second application is called Big Stretch (download for free here: http://www.monkeymatt.com/bigstretch/). Big Stretch is a simple reminder program that allows you to set how long you want in between reminders, what you want your reminders to say, and how obtrusive you want your reminders to be. For example, I have my reminders set at fifteen minute intervals, they say “Get Movin,” and pop up on my screen in a new window. Big Stretch is really helpful for reminding yourself to be cognizant of how you are using your time (damnit Facebook), and allows you to get up and stretch, do a squat/pushup, or have a quick walk around the room.

It is important to break up your sedentary time because your body reacts very differently when it is sedentary than when it is standing or moving. One of the biggest physiological effects of being sedentary is the lowering of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase. Decreased lipoprotein levels lowers the fat burning activity of cells and is associated with hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and more frequent and severe coronary artery disease incidents. For more information on why sitting is problematic, read this: http://www.benhirshberg.com/1/post/2012/07/sitting-kills-yoga-balls-and-standing-desks.html

Cutting down on sedentary time is ideal. But for many people that is difficult to do because of work, school, or other environmental reasons. For me, I enjoy using my computer to read articles, write articles, send emails, stay in touch with friends and family, and various other tasks. Using F.lux and Big Stretch are helpful to me in my attempt to manage my screen time, and I hope they help you too.

Paleo/Primal Ice Cream

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 05:00:02 GMT

I am not the strictest paleo diet adherent. I make an effort (not that it's very hard!) to eat tasty paleo foods often, but I also make an effort not to restrict myself. As a result of this, I have gotten in the habit of making primal treats, making sure that I don't restrict myself from the foods I love, but also making sure to put nourishing things in my body. In the past several months, I have fallen for paleo ice cream. Summers in Seattle aren't quite hot like the desert, but ice cream hits the spot when the thermometer is anywhere above 70 degrees and sunny. I became such a fan of paleo ice cream that I ended up making my own recipe book.

My paleo ice cream recipes are healthy, tasty, and extremely simple to make. Instead of using reduced fat milk, an abundance of chemicals, and sugar, my recipes are made with coconut milk, egg yolks, and honey. Additionally I have provided alternative ingredients such as stevia and cream in my ebook for those that have certain taste or dietary preferences.

The first recipe in my ebook (pictured above) is as follows:

Vanilla

Ingredients:

*    1 400ml can coconut milk
*    1/6 cup honey
*    2 egg yolks
*    2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat coconut milk, honey, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan over low heat.

2. Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl. Temper the egg yolks by adding a small ladle of the warm mixture at a time, and stirring continuously until all coconut milk is combined with egg yolks.

3. Refrigerate mixture until cool.

4. Follow the directions on your ice cream maker and enjoy!

Try the recipe out, you'll love it! If you want to learn more about the eBook, check out The Paleo Ice Cream Cookbook!

Bulletproof Coffee: Why I Put Coconut Oil And Grass Fed Butter In My Cup Of Joe

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:49:11 GMT

If you want to learn how to make Bulletproof Coffee please check out my video How to make Bulletproof Coffee; and if you want to learn more about the drink itself please read on : )

Prior to six months ago, I had only sipped on coffee once. The taste was bitter, and I'd heard all about the negative health consequences that came along with drinking coffee. Coffee supposedly stunted children's growth, was addicting, and increased the likelihood of contracting several diseases. David Asprey of BulletproofExec.com inspired me to give the black drink another chance, and I am so glad that I did.

It turns out that like many other health related topics, conventional wisdom is wrong about coffee. Coffee can actually be very beneficial for human health, and pairs well with superfoods coconut oil and grass fed butter to form one of the healthiest drinks around: Bulletproof Coffee.

There are quite a few observational studies showing coffee to be a detriment to health. These epidemiological studies are the reason coffee has a bad name among mainstream health experts. However, there are also many observational studies showing coffee to have a very positive impact on health. The likely reason for the discrepancy? The studies do not control for the type and quality of coffee used.

The appropriate conclusion to reach then is that poor quality coffee has negative health effects and high quality coffee has positive health effects. This isn’t a completely new concept, as many are familiar with the idea that farmed fish can be harmful to health while wild caught fish are extremely healthy. Even more well-known is the idea that eating hormone and nitrate laden cows causes a plethora of problems while grass fed beef is considered by many to be one of the healthiest foods in existence.

Finding high quality coffee can be confusing, although there are a few guidelines to follow. Getting your beans single origin, high altitude, wet processed, and roasted in small batches are the best ways to make sure your coffee will help you rather than hurt you!

The epidemiological data in favor of high quality coffee is quite impressive. Coffee drinkers are significantly less likely to become diabetic, which is related to a correlation between coffee and increased insulin sensitivity. Men who drink coffee have shown a decreased likelihood of developing prostate cancer, and an even higher likelihood of surviving if they do get prostate cancer. In fact, one study showed that those who drank boiled coffee were less likely to suffer from any type of cancer. Female coffee drinkers have a better long term memory and are less likely to be depressed, develop breast cancer, and suffer a stroke. The list goes on and on, but I am more interested in scientific experiments, because as we all know, association is very different than causation.

One experiment showed that caffeine, one of coffee’s most famous components, increased short term memory. Another showed that coffee had a similar positive effect on heart rate as Chi Gong breathing and meditation exercises. These two experiments bolster the average Joe’s anecdotal evidence suggesting coffee provides a potent boost for the brain. On that note, those that intend to drink coffee before an exam or interview would be wise to test out the effects coffee has on them before the actual event, as not all folks react the same to different levels of caffeine!

Mental performance is not the only improvement coffee provides. A cup of Joe does physical performance some good as well. Experiments have shown that coffee increases aerobic and anaerobic performance. This means that coffee can lower your marathon time as well as increase your deadlift one rep max. Again, the effects of specific doses should be tested before coffee is used pre-game.

Coffee is very high in several antioxidants and polyphenols, including the antioxidant caffeine, which decreases the chance of developing Alzheimer’s. The level of antioxidants in coffee is so that high that for the average diet of United States citizens (which is admittedly extremely poor), coffee is the main source of antioxidants.

On many fronts, coffee appears to aid in a healthy body composition. Coffee has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity, which is key, as insulin is our body’s main fat storage hormone. Probably one of the biggest benefits of drinking coffee is the increase in metabolism and fat mobilization and oxidation, which are all helpful when looking to stay or become lean.

People all over the world have been enjoying coffee with fantastic results for hundreds of years. Millions of positive anecdotal experiences say a lot about the black stuff, but the experiments and studies showing coffee to be healthy may be even more telling. Even with all of the health benefits coffee can claim, it is only a part of what makes Bulletproof Coffee such a potent drink.

Coconut oil is the second ingredient in Bulletproof Coffee. Traditionally, coconut oil has gotten a bad rap for its high fat content. However, this bad reputation makes very little sense for a few reasons. First, not all fats are created equal. This can be seen with other micronutrients as well- the carbs in a Twinkie and the carbs in a sweet potato certainly will not impact one’s health equally. Second, the communities who consume coconut as the largest portions of their diets such as the South Pacific Islanders and Polynesians have strong health markers. While neither of those reasons prove that coconut oil is healthy, they make us question the notion that coconut oil is unhealthy because it contains a large amount of fat.

Coconut oil actually improves heart health, boosts thyroid performance, increases metabolism, and strengthens the immune system. Additionally, coconut oil has been known to decrease body fat and promote a healthy body composition.

One reason coconut oil helps decrease body fat is because of its high medium chain triglyceride (MCT) levels. MCTs are digested very easily by the body, and are an excellent source of quick energy. The performance enhancing energy boost is similar to that of carbohydrate consumption, only with MCTs there is no insulin surge and no crash later. MCTs also enable to the body to burn its own fat stores, which can lead to a lower body fat percentage and more constant energy levels.

In addition to being high in MCTs, coconut oil also contains vast amounts of lauric acid. Lauric acid is converted by the body into monolaurin, which fights harmful viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. The combination of lauric acid and MCTs make coconut oil synergistic with coffee, both keeping the body disease free, lean, and physically capable.

Last but not least, grass fed butter rounds out the Bulletproof Coffee recipe. Grain fed butter can be used, but it is inferior to its grass fed brethren.

Grass fed butter has three to five times higher conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) levels than grain fed butter. CLA has been associated with increased heart health, reduction in tumor growth, decreased belly fat, and more fat loss in overweight individuals. The immune system also gets a boost from CLA, and muscle building is helped as well. Needless to say, the high CLA levels in grass fed butter will help the body function optimally.

Vitamin levels are also higher in grass fed butter. This makes sense, as vegetation in pastures have more vitamins than the corn that grain fed cows eat. The main vitamins which are more present in grass fed butter than grain fed butter are vitamin A and vitamin K2, which are both essential to keep the body healthy.

Grass fed butter contains an omega 3 to omega 6 ratio of one. Grain fed butter has a ratio that is tilted heavily towards omega 6 fatty acids. Again, this makes sense based off of what the cows eat. Feeding our cows grain just exacerbates our society’s problem of eating too much grain by further distorting our omega 3 to omega 6 ratio. Eating grass fed butter actually helps our predicament by providing our body with an equal amount of omega 3 fats and omega 6 fats.

That is not to say grain fed butter is unhealthy. Most any butter is still a solid source of healthy fats, and a good addition to many meals. But when we attempting to optimize performance, grass fed butter wins by a significant margin.

Another reason grass fed butter is an important addition to Bulletproof Coffee is the arichidonic acid levels and ability to provide quick energy. Arichidonic acid helps the brain function, further boosting Bulletproof Coffee’s ability to give you a mental edge. Butter is made up of short chain triglycerides and our familiar medium chain triglycerides, neither of which are stored in adipose tissue, making butter another great source of immediate and long term energy.

Bulletproof coffee is a great drink that can be consumed for a variety of purposes. There is potential for Bulletproof Coffee to be helpful before a test or interview because its brain enhancing properties. There is also potential for Bulletproof Coffee to be helpful before an athletic competition because of the stabile short and long term energy sources and coffee’s ergogenic effects. Personally I enjoy a cup of Bulletproof Coffee for breakfast, signaling my body to use its own fat stores for energy, and giving me a physical and mental boost for the rest of the day.

Asprey, David. "Coffee: 5 Reasons You Can Perform Better & 10 Ways to Live Longer." The Bulletproof Executive. N.p., 16 Nov. 2011. Web. .
Huget, Jennifer LaRue. "Coffee Isn’t Always Bad for You." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2011. Web. .
Gates, Donna. "The 20 Health Benefits of Real Butter." Body Ecology. N.p., 5 July 2007. Web. .
Sisson, Mark. "Is All Butter Created Equal?" Marks Daily Apple. N.p., 3 Aug. 2010. Web. .
Mercola, Joseph, Dr. "Coconut Oil Benefits: When Fat Is Good For You." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Feb. 2011. Web. .

How to make bulletproof coffee

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 09:12:54 GMT

If you want to learn more about the details of why Bulletproof Coffee is beneficial please visit my article detailing Bulletproof Coffee; and if you want to learn how to make the wonderful drink please watch the video : )

This is my first ever video, showing you how to make Bulletproof Coffee. David Asprey from BulletproofExec.com came up with the recipe and I am a huge fan. The video will be followed by a detailed look at Bulletproof Coffee and its ingredients. Cheers!

SITTING KILLS, YOGA BALLS, AND STANDING DESKS

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:28:11 GMT

Women and men that sit for six or more hours a day are 40% and 20% more likely to die within 15 years than their brothers and sisters who sit for less than three hours a day, independent of whether they exercise or not. People with sitting jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease as people with non-sitting jobs. People who sit most of the day are 54% more likely to die of a heat attack.

All of those statistics are true. And while correlation is not causation, there is clearly something to the notion that excessive sitting is harmful.

Intuitively, it makes sense that being sedentary is not healthy. When you sit, you feel like a blob. Your muscles aren't working, you can feel your posture go down the drain, and your energy seems to dip.

Immediately upon sitting down, several things happen inside the body. The electrical activity inside the legs shuts off, calorie burning drops to 1 per minute, and the activity of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase drops by 90%.

Lipoprotein lipase is crucial to the body's ability to process fats. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a whole host of health problems, including heart disease.

Prolonged sitting is where the real trouble is. When sitting for several hours, that means several hours of no electrical activity in the legs, virtually nonexistent caloric expenditure, and low lipoprotein lipase levels. Insulin sensitivity also decreases more with each sitting minute. Research done at the the Pennington Biomedical Research Center shows that after a full day of being sedentary, insulin sensitivity is lowered by an average of 40%.

These problems are the result of sitting specifically, rather than low calorie expenditure. It is commonly thought that exercising before or after work can undo what happens when sitting at work for eight hours each day. Exercising before or after work is a very healthy habit, however it should be thought of separately from sitting. Sitting for hours on end has specific consequences that are independent of activity level. This is shown by studies showing the harmful effects of extended sitting and finding no difference in those that exercise and those that do not.

Many activities necessitate being fairly static, such as writing a blog post. There are a few ways to mitigate the harm done by sitting.

Standing desks are becoming more popular as more people are waking up to the realization that sitting has negative health effects. I enjoy standing while surfing the internet or writing on my laptop. However, after standing for a couple hours I notice my posture slowly deteriorating. Standing with poor posture is likely better than sitting with poor posture, but neither is ideal. Standing endurance needs to be built up too, so even standing for two hours may be unrealistic at first.

When my posture starts to slip when standing, I turn to my yoga ball. Sitting on a yoga ball allows for better posture than a typical office chair as well as more muscle engagement than a typical office chair.

A third way to combat the effects of sitting is to move more during time normally spent sitting. Getting up and stretching or walking really does make a difference. Being more active in general while sitting is beneficial too. Tapping a foot to music, dancing, or bouncing on a yoga ball signals to the body that you aren't being completely sedentary.

Finding ways to sit less is the best strategy to employ to avoid the consequences of extended sitting. If sitting less is not an option for you, then setting up a standing workstation, yoga ball workstation, and moving around more while working are the best solutions. Spend less time being still and don't let yourself become a sitting statistic.

Zuckswert, Amber. "Sitting Kills: This Will Make You Want To Move." EpicSelf. N.p., 7 Nov. 2011. Web. .
Vlahos, James. "WHAT'S THE MOST UNHEALTHFUL THING YOU DO EVERY DAY?" The New York Times. N.p., 17 Apr. 2011. Web. .
Judson, Olivia. "Stand Up While You Read This!" The New York Times. N.p., 23 Feb. 2010. Web. .
Walsh, Bryan. "Sitting All Day Isn't Good For You." Time. N.p., 13 Apr. 2011. Web. .