Thursday, September 6, 2007
Overweight and obese individuals are often at risk for a cluster of symptoms termed metabolic syndrome x. Included are hypertension, high lipid levels, coronary disease and heightened insulin levels, a precurser to diabetes.
Two common prescriptions for those needing to lose weight and reduce their risk for symptoms of metabolic syndrome x are exercise and good nutrition. Part of good nutrition for overweight individuals includes taking fish oil supplements which contain the healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Omega 3's reduce the symptoms of metabolic syndrome x and increase the amount of fat you burn at rest and while exercising.
One study measured abdominal fat in overweight participants. One group exercised, a second took fish caps and a third did both. The exercise group and the fish cap group both lost abdominal fat. The most fat, however, was lost by the group who performed both exercise and took fish caps.
The same was true for the other symptoms of metabolic syndrome x. All groups improved but the combined exercise/fish oil group showed the greatest improvement in blood pressure, insulin resistance and cholesterol levels.
The omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk factors, lessen depression, improve asthma, sharpen eyesight, improve diabetes, improve your immune system and help you lose weight. They are one of the healthiest foods on earth. If you need to lose weight or just want to add one of those "super foods" to your diet make the omega-3 fatty acids your first choice.
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Dr. Lanny Schaffer is the President of The International Fitness Academy. For more cutting edge weight loss and fitness information go to http://www.aerobic-exercise-coach.com
Why You Need to Know about Stress and Cold Sores
In this article I want to write about the role stress plays in triggering cold sores, and why it is important we manage our stress levels if we are susceptible to this virus. Why are some people prone to cold sores and others are not? All of us are carrying this virus, so the question is what wakens the dormant virus from its slumber?
Your overall well-being is certainly a factor, as is the kind of nutrition you are getting. But let’s take a particular look at the negative role physical and emotional stress can play here.
Cold sores often appear during illnesses particularly viral illnesses, pregnancy or even after a visit to the dentist to have a tooth extracted. All these are stressful events in their own right. Should you find yourself at risk of getting a cold sore, the best thing you can do to prevent this is to keep your levels of stress down as much as you can.
By this I mean both physical and mental stress, because mental stress also has physical effects. Stress has been labeled as the primary reason of outbreaks of cold sores. The virus actually lives in the nervous system cells, which makes it extremely sensitive to any changes in stress levels.
The dormant virus becomes active and awake through physical or emotional stress. It travels through to the body’s surface via the nerves. On reaching the surface it enters the cells, forcing them to replicate the viruses. The ugly cold sores are the end result of this process of thousands of cells having duplicated themselves in a small area on the body.
Obviously it is just about impossible to have no stress at all in your life, but if you can keep yourself generally healthy it follows that you will be to cope better with the physical side of stress. Apart from the stress caused by illnesses, even stressful events such as weddings, funerals, arguments with spouses or colleagues can trigger cold sores. This is particularly the case for those people who generally handle stress badly.
The virus is extremely sensitive to stress changes precisely because it lives in the nervous system. So it’s like a vicious circle, the various stress factors cause the immune system to deteriorate, which makes it harder for the body to fight back.
If you start feeling unwell make sure you get a lot of rest and avoid going outside in bright sunlight unless you use lip balm with a sun block. It is crucial to avoid stress as much as you can. Keep it to a minimum to help your immune system stay strong to fight the cold sore virus.
The Best Time to Exercise for Aerobic Training
When it comes to fat loss, aerobic exercise can be an important factor. However, one crucial point that you must keep in mind is that the amount of fat loss depends a lot on when you perform your aerobic workout.
Most people believe that they have to spend a lot of time doing their aerobic work out to get results. Some of my friends believe that they have to spend at least an hour working out to get any results. While this may be true for some, it may not have to be the case all the time.
A lot if it has to do with your timing of the work out. Unless you are a body builder (who’s lively hood is to burn body fat to low levels), you can spend less time performing your aerobic work out and not risk muscle loss.
The two most optimal times to perform your aerobic workout are in the morning and after you weight lift.
You want to perform aerobic activity the very first thing in your morning because most likely your stomach is empty. When you do your aerobic workout at this time of day you are going to burn more body fat than at any other time of your day.
Your body will have very low carbohydrates sugar (called glycogen) stores for your system to burn. Your body will turn to your body fat to get the energy it requires to complete your workout.
Make sure you are well hydrated before you perform your work out (especially, if you drink coffee first thing in the morning). As a rule of thumb, I usually have 8 oz of water for every cup of coffee I drink. Water is important to prevent you from dehydration during work out.
If you work out later in the day, the next most optimal time to perform your aerobic workout is after you’ve completed your weight training workout. This can be due to the fact body takes roughly 20-30 minutes to start using fat as an energy source. The body uses sugars for energy first.
Of course you can perform aerobic workouts any time of the day. However, you should consider the above situations to for optimal fat burning opportunities. For example, a good alternative may be to go for a brisk jog before your lunch break lunch or dinner.
Some times the best time to exercise is when you can create the opportunity to delay a meal to fit in a half hour aerobic work out. It just depends on where to fit it in your life style.
Source: http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/cardioexercisebasics/a/cardiobasics.htm
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