OXYGEN THERAPY SHOWS PROMISE AGAINST A VARIETY OF AILMENTS
By Dr. Patrick Massey for the Daily Herald
A number of years ago, it was believed that doing surgery in large pressure chambers (hyperbaric chambers) would improve outcomes. To that end, some medical centers began to do surgery in hyperbaric chambers.
Hyperbaric chambers were very expensive and the overall results were not positive enough to justify the expense of doing surgery in them. As a result, over the next 30 years, hyperbaric chambers were rarely used.
However, advances in technology have lowered the cost of hyperbaric chambers to the point where physicians and medical centers are using them again.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is done inside a hyperbaric chamber. The patient is exposed to 100 percent oxygen at pressures slightly higher than normal in order to supersaturate the tissues with oxygen. First developed in the early 1900s by Orville Cunningham, hyperbaric therapy was not really used until the 1940s to treat deep-sea divers with decompression sickness. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was used during heart and lung surgery. Later, it was found to be beneficial to treat carbon monoxide poisoning and other medical conditions.
Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been the subject of controversy because of the lack of well controlled medical studies, there are a number of medical conditions for which there is substantial evidence that it is effective. These include decompression sickness (scuba diving), moderate to severe carbon monoxide poisoning, prevention and treatment of osteoradionecrosis (radiation therapy-induced bone damage), radiation therapy-induced soft-tissue damage, skin graft healing, enhanced healing after plastic surgery and in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers.
There are a number of other medical conditions for which hyperbaric oxygen might be beneficial but good clinical trials are lacking. Among these are autism, stroke, dementia, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, diabetic skin ulcers and even chronic fatigue syndrome. How hyperbaric oxygen helps decompression sickness and carbon monoxide poisoning is clearly defined. However, for most chronic medical conditions, how it works is less clear. It is believed higher oxygenation of the blood and tissues stimulates the growth of new blood vessels and nerves. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy might also reduce swelling and help acute brain and spinal cord injuries. There is some evidence that it might also help lymphedema, swelling and impairment from damage to the lymph system.
The side effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy are often mild and reversible. The most common side effects are claustrophobia and a readily reversible change in vision clarity. The only absolute reason to avoid hyperbaric therapy is a collapsed lung.
In the movie Fletch, comedian Chevy Chase plays the role of Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher, a reporter working undercover to expose drug dealing on the beaches of Los Angeles. Over the course of his investigation, Fletch assumes a variety of creative characters as he identifies the corrupt businessmen and cops involved in the drug-dealing ring. In one scene, Fletch pretends to be an airplane mechanic and tries to lie his way into a hangar by saying he was there to check the ball bearings. “It’s all ball bearings nowadays,” is one of the most memorable quotes of this iconic ‘80s movie.
Repeatedly, I have been asked how exercise can help achieve a specific goal. I like fun, but honest way to answer these questions and channel your inner Fletch by replying, “It’s all hormones nowadays.” If you’ve worked with me for very long in any capacity, you’ ve heard me say this time and time again. The term “calories in versus calories out” is as archaic as the Myan ruins.
The endocrine system regulates the production of hormones, which are chemicals that control cellular functions. Hormones can affect a number of different cells; however, they only influence the ones with specific receptor sites. Hormones control a number of physiological reactions in the body including energy metabolism, reproductive processes, tissue growth, hydration levels, synthesis and degradation of muscle protein, and mood. Hormones are responsible for both building new muscle and helping to burn fat, so it is important to have an understanding of which ones are released in relation to exercise as well as understanding the physiological functions they influence.
There are three major classifications of hormones: steroid, peptide and amines (modified amino acid hormones). Each class of hormones has a unique chemical structure that determines how it interacts with specific receptors. Steroid hormones interact with receptors in the nucleus of a cell, peptide hormones are comprised of amino acids and work with specific receptors sites on the cell membrane, and amines contain nitrogen and influence the sympathetic nervous system.
Hormones can either be anabolic, which means they help build new tissue, or catabolic because they play a role in breaking tissue down. The term “anabolic steroids” is often mentioned as a method of cheating used by athletes who want to improve performance; however, anabolic steroids are actually natural chemicals produced by the body that are responsible for promoting tissue growth.
I’ve taken the time to compose a list of these hormones along with how they work and why they are important in reaching your fitness goals.
Insulin
A peptide hormone produced by the pancreas, insulin regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism. When blood sugar is elevated, insulin is released to promote the storage and absorption of glycogen and glucose. Insulin helps reduce levels of glucose in the blood by promoting its absorption from the bloodstream to skeletal muscles or fat tissues. It is important to know that insulin can cause fat to be stored in adipose tissue (fat cells – specifically aroumd the belly) instead of being used to fuel muscle activity. When exercise starts, the sympathetic nervous system suppresses the release of insulin; consequently, it is important to avoid foods with high levels of sugar (including sports drinks) before exercise because it can elevate insulin levels and promote glycogen storage instead of allowing it to be used to fuel physical activity. Wait until the body has started sweating before using any sports drinks or energy gels. If you’ve worked with me for any length I’ve time, you’ve heard me say “NO ENERGY DRINKS!” Gatorade and Powerade, as well as any other drinks like Red Bull are STRICKLY off limits.
Glucagon
Released in response to low levels of blood sugar, glucagon is produced by the pancreas to stimulate the release of free fatty acids (FFAs) from adipose tissue and increase blood glucose levels, both of which are important for fueling exercise activity. As glycogen levels are depleted during exercise, glucagon releases additional glycogen stored in the liver.
Cortisol
Cortisol is a catabolic steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glandss in response to stress, low blood sugar and exercise. It supports energy metabolism during long periods of exercise by facilitating the breakdown of triglycerides and protein to create the glucose necessary to help fuel exercise. Cortisol is released when the body experiences too much physical stress or is not sufficiently recovered from a previous workout. While cortisol helps promote fat metabolism, exercising for too long can elevate levels of cortisol to catabolize muscle protein for fuel instead of conserving it to be used to repair damaged tissues.
Epinephrine and Norepinephrine
These amine hormones play an important role in helping the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) produce energy and in regulating the body’s function during cardiorespiratory exercise. Classified as catecholamines, epinephrine and norepinephrine are separate but related hormones. Epinephrine, often referred to as adrenaline because it is produced by the adrenal gland, elevates cardiac output, increases blood sugar (to help fuel exercise), promotes the breakdown of glycogen for energy and supports fat metabolism. Norepinephrine performs a number of the same functions as epinephrine, while also constricting blood vessels in parts of the body not involved in exercise.
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone produced by the Leydig cells of the testes in males and the ovaries of females, with small amounts produced by the adrenal glands of both genders. Testosterone is responsible for muscle protein resynthesis and the repair of muscle proteins damaged by exercise, and plays a significant role in helping grow skeletal muscle. Testosterone works with specific receptor sights and is produced in response to exercise that damages muscle proteins.
Human Growth Hormone
Human growth hormone (HGH) is an anabolic peptide hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates cellular growth. Like all hormones, HGH works with specific receptor sites and can produce a number of responses, including increasing muscle protein synthesis responsible for muscle growth, increasing bone mineralization, supporting immune system function and promoting lipolysis, or fat metabolism. The body produces HGH during the REM cycles of sleep (this is one reason I stand on my soap-box a preach about sleep; if you’re not getting enough sleep, you WILL NOT drop weight) and is stimulated by high-intensity exercise such as heavy strength training, explosive power training or cardiorespiratory exercise at or above the onset of blood lactate (OBLA, the second ventilatory threshold).
Insulin-like Growth Factor
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) has a similar molecular structure to insulin and is stimulated by the same mechanisms that produce HGH. IGF is a peptide hormone produced in the liver and supports the function of HGH to repair protein damaged during exercise, which makes it an important hormone for promoting muscle growth.
Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotransmitter that helps stimulate the production of new cells in the brain. The production of BDNF is closely related to the production of HGH and IGF—the same exercises that elevate levels of those hormones also increase amounts of BDNF. High-intensity exercise can stimulate anabolic hormones for muscle growth while elevating levels of BDNF, which can help improve cognitive function; thi)s is one of the many reasons I promote High Intensity Interval Training.
Understanding how exercise influences the hormones that control physiological functions can assist you in developing effective exercise programs. Hormones have both short- and long-term responses to exercise. In the acute phase immediately post-exercise, testosterone (T), HGH and IGF are produced to repair damaged tissue. Over the long-term, there is an increase in the receptor sites and binding proteins, which allow T, HGH and IGF to be used more effectively for tissue repair and muscle growth. For those who want muscle growth, the levels of T, HGH and IGF are produced in response to the amount of mechanical stress created during resistance-training exercises. Moderate to heavy loads performed until momentary fatigue generate high levels of mechanical force, which creates more damage to muscle protein, which signals the production of T, HGH and IGF to repair protein, which results in muscle growth.
While there are a myriad of hormones responsible for an almost infinite number of physiological functions, the hormones listed above are directly influenced by physical activity and play important roles in helping the body adapt to the imposed physical demands of exercise. Seasoned health and fitness professionals such as myself, understand that the nervous and muscular systems play important roles in determining the outcomes of an exercise program. However, the reality is that hormones influence many of the physiological adaptations to physical activity. That means that, “It’s all hormones nowadays,” is the appropriate response to many questions about how the human body responds to exercise.
There are trainers in the business that have incorrect and basically archaic information regarding weight loss. We know so much more now than we did in the 80s and 90s. The world of fitness and nutrition is a lot like technology in that it’s ever changing. We are always learning new things about the way our bodies respond to exercise and our nutritional challenges, as well as the role hormones play in whether we gain weight or whether we lose weight.
The endocrine system regulates the production of hormones, which are chemicals that control cellular functions. Hormones can affect a number of different cells; however, they only influence the ones with specific receptor sites. Hormones control a number of physiological reactions in the body including energy metabolism, reproductive processes, tissue growth, hydration levels, synthesis and degradation of muscle protein, and mood. Hormones are responsible for both building new muscle and helping to burn fat, so it is important to have an understanding of which ones are released in relation to exercise as well as understanding the physiological functions they influence.
There are three major classifications of hormones: steroid, peptide and amines (modified amino acid hormones). Each class of hormones has a unique chemical structure that determines how it interacts with specific receptors. Steroid hormones interact with receptors in the nucleus of a cell, peptide hormones are comprised of amino acids and work with specific receptors sites on the cell membrane, and amines contain nitrogen and influence the sympathetic nervous system.
Hormones can either be anabolic, which means they help build new tissue, or catabolic because they play a role in breaking tissue down. The term “anabolic steroids” is often mentioned as a method of cheating used by athletes who want to improve performance; however, anabolic steroids are actually natural chemicals produced by the body that are responsible for promoting tissue growth.
Listed below are some important hormones involved in exercise along with the physiological functions they control.
Insulin
A peptide hormone produced by the pancreas, insulin regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism. When blood sugar is elevated, insulin is released to promote the storage and absorption of glycogen and glucose. Insulin helps reduce levels of glucose in the blood by promoting its absorption from the bloodstream to skeletal muscles or fat tissues. It is important to know that insulin can cause fat to be stored in adipose tissue instead of being used to fuel muscle activity. When exercise starts, the sympathetic nervous system suppresses the release of insulin; consequently, it is important to avoid foods with high levels of sugar (including sports drinks) before exercise because it can elevate insulin levels and promote glycogen storage instead of allowing it to be used to fuel physical activity. Wait until the body has started sweating before using any sports drinks or energy gels.
Glucagon
Released in response to low levels of blood sugar, glucagon is produced by the pancreas to stimulate the release of free fatty acids (FFAs) from adipose tissue and increase blood glucose levels, both of which are important for fueling exercise activity. As glycogen levels are depleted during exercise, glucagon releases additional glycogen stored in the liver.
Cortisol
Cortisol is a catabolic steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland in response to stress, low blood sugar and exercise. It supports energy metabolism during long periods of exercise by facilitating the breakdown of triglyceride and protein to create the glucose necessary to help fuel exercise. Cortisol is released when the body experiences too much physical stress or is not sufficiently recovered from a previous workout. While cortisol helps promote fat metabolism, exercising for too long can elevate levels of cortisol to catabolize muscle protein for fuel instead of conserving it to be used to repair damaged tissues.
Epinephrine and Norepinephrine
These amine hormones play an important role in helping the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) produce energy and in regulating the body’s function during cardiorespiratory exercise. Classified as catecholamines, epinephrine and norepinephrine are separate but related hormones. Epinephrine, often referred to as adrenaline because it is produced by the adrenal gland, elevates cardiac output, increases blood sugar (to help fuel exercise), promotes the breakdown of glycogen for energy and supports fat metabolism. Norepinephrine performs a number of the same functions as epinephrine, while also constricting blood vessels in parts of the body not involved in exercise.
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone produced by the Leydig cells of the testes in males and the ovaries of females, with small amounts produced by the adrenal glands of both genders. Testosterone is responsible for muscle protein resynthesis and the repair of muscle proteins damaged by exercise, and plays a significant role in helping grow skeletal muscle. Testosterone works with specific receptor sights and is produced in response to exercise that damages muscle proteins.
Human Growth Hormone
Human growth hormone (HGH) is an anabolic peptide hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates cellular growth. Like all hormones, HGH works with specific receptor sites and can produce a number of responses, including increasing muscle protein synthesis responsible for muscle growth, increasing bone mineralization, supporting immune system function and promoting lipolysis, or fat metabolism. The body produces HGH during the REM cycles of sleep and is stimulated by high-intensity exercise such as heavy strength training, explosive power training or cardiorespiratory exercise at or above the onset of blood lactate (OBLA, the second ventilatory threshold).
Insulin-like Growth Factor
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) has a similar molecular structure to insulin and is stimulated by the same mechanisms that produce HGH. IGF is a peptide hormone produced in the liver and supports the function of HGH to repair protein damaged during exercise, which makes it an important hormone for promoting muscle growth.
Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotransmitter that helps stimulate the production of new cells in the brain. The production of BDNF is closely related to the production of HGH and IGF—the same exercises that elevate levels of those hormones also increase amounts of BDNF. High-intensity exercise can stimulate anabolic hormones for muscle growth while elevating levels of BDNF, which can help improve cognitive function.
Understanding how exercise influences the hormones that control physiological functions can assist you in developing effective exercise programs specifically for you. Hormones have both short- and long-term responses to exercise. In the acute phase immediately post-exercise, testosterone (T), HGH and IGF are produced to repair damaged tissue. Over the long-term, there is an increase in the receptor sites and binding proteins, which allow T, HGH and IGF to be used more effectively for tissue repair and muscle growth. For those who want muscle growth, the levels of T, HGH and IGF are produced in response to the amount of mechanical stress created during resistance-training exercises. Moderate to heavy loads performed until momentary fatigue generate high levels of mechanical force, which creates more damage to muscle protein, which signals the production of T, HGH and IGF to repair protein, which results in muscle growth.
While there are a myriad of hormones responsible for an almost infinite number of physiological functions, the hormones listed above are directly influenced by physical activity and play important roles in helping the body adapt to the imposed physical demands of exercise. Many fitness professionals like myself understand that the nervous and muscular systems play important roles in determining the outcomes of an exercise program. However, the reality is that hormones influence many of the physiological adaptations to physical activity. That means that, “It’s all hormones nowadays,” is the appropriate response to many questions about how the human body responds to
Today, I want to talk about the importance of protein. How protein benefits your overall health in physical performance is crucial to understand. So whether you’re a weekend warrior, you’re trying to lose weight or you are an athlete, protein is important for everybody — and just about everyone is deficient in quality protein in their diet
I’m going to go over how to get more protein in your diet, the benefits of eating more protein foods and how much you should consume. So starting off here, let’s talk about protein and what it does.
Why Protein Is So Important
Protein is the building block of yourself. It’s the building block of your muscles and also is present in the foods that are going to boost your metabolism and fat-burning potential. Nothing is more important than protein. It really is the fuel that motivates and really supports your body in building healthy tissues and cells.
What exactly are proteins? Proteins are considered long chains of amino acids, which are the important molecules we get from our diet. Amino acids can be found in many different types of foods, even vegetables, but the highest sources are those that come from animals – like meat, dairy, eggs and fish – plus to a lesser extent certain plant foods like beans and seeds.
Proteins are used every day to keep the body going. Because they’re used to develop, grow and maintain just about every part of our bodies — from our skin and hair to our digestive enzymes and immune system antibodies — they’re constantly being broken down and must be replaced.
Vital organs, muscles, tissues and even some hormones of the body are made from proteins. Additionally, proteins create hemoglobin and important antibodies. Proteins are involved in just about every body function from controlling blood sugar levels to healing wounds and fighting off bacteria.
Simply put, without proteins life would not exist.
The average person probably needs half his or her body weight in protein a day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you need at least around 75 grams of protein a day if you’re trying to burn fat and build muscle the right way. And for many athletes, more than that is going to be essential as well.
Do You Have a Protein Deficiency?
Mayo Clinic researcher Jan van Deursen, Ph.D, set out to study the cause of cancer, but soon his research took him in a different direction — what impacts aging? His research revealed that certain proteins play an important, even critical, role in aging.
In his investigation, van Deursen and his team created genetically modified mice that had a protein deficiency in one specific type of protein, BubR1. They discovered that the mice deficient in this vital protein aged four to five times faster than the control group of normal mice.
This naturally occurring protein declines as we age and, in this study, were found to be at deficient levels in the mice’s muscles, heart, brain, spleen, testis and ovaries. The study theorizes that this holds true in the human body, too, with aprotein deficiency leading to cataracts, heart problems, kyphosis or muscle atrophy — all somewhat common in the elderly.
Eating too little protein can result in these symptoms as well:
A sluggishmetabolism
Trouble losing weight
Trouble building muscle mass
Low energy levels and fatigue
Poor concentration and trouble learning
Moodiness and mood swings
Muscle, bone and joint pain
Blood sugar changes that can lead to diabetes
Slow wound healing
Low immunityThe best forms of protein you can be getting are going to be things like grass-fed beef, organic chicken and turkey, wild-caught salmon — also, grass-fed organic dairy products are great. And then, healthy quality protein powders like grass-fed whey protein is another great option.Some other high protein foods to help overcome a protein deficiency include:
And then for the plant-based sources of protein, flaxseeds and chia seeds are great; other nuts and seeds, and beans, are also quality sources of protein.
The Top Protein Foods
Free-range eggs
Lentils
Natto
Kefir or yogurt
Mushrooms Getting protein in your diet is greatly beneficial, and the biggest benefits of protein include fat burning, helping muscle recovery and helping heal cuts in the wound. And if you have any sort of injury, protein is essential. It’s also essential for:
Protein Health Benefits
Fighting diabetes in balancing up blood sugar
Brain function
Any issue you have in terms of depression and brain issues
CholesterolAnd last but not least, it’s important for muscle recovery. So if you’re trying to recover from an injury and also want to improve your overall energy, getting more protein in your diet is essential.So get more protein in your diet. I’d even recommend keeping a food journal; write down what you’ve eaten the past three days, and then add up the grams of protein you’ve actually gotten in your system.
You also can go to the website nutritiondata.com and actually look up the amount of protein in the amount of food you’ve consumed, or else do it for the next three days and see how much protein you’re actually getting in your diet.
When buying protein, make sure it’s from organic, natural sources. One of the issues we run into today is all of our conventional restaurants, our conventional grocery stores, they’re not selling grass-fed organic protein. And if you’re eating conventional protein, it’s loaded with hormones, antibiotics, steroids and other chemicals that will actually destroy your health.
There is study after study showing that protein is essential for your body.
If you’re looking to up your protein intake, I will be posting a list of 50 snack options that are packed with protein on the Empower Wellness closed group page. If you’re in a program with me or any of our team at Empower Wellness, you should have access to this page; if you do not, simply send a request to join and I will get you added.
Money, time, energy, stability, pride. And you’re not even guaranteed to succeed.
You know that if you do reach success, the doorway to everything you’ve ever wanted will open up. But . . . what if you fail?
What if you don’t have what it takes and all your best-laid plans go awry? What if you lose your steady income, your house and ultimately your friends and family?
You could end up living in a cardboard box, sitting alone on the side of the street, begging people for pocket change.
Nah,says your mind. The risk is too great. I’d better settle for what I have. Compared to the cardboard box alternative, it’s not so bad.
You might tell yourself that the timing isn’t right, or that you’re no risk-taker. But whatever the excuse, deep inside you know the real truth: you’re afraid of failing.
Fear of failure makes you play small in life. It stops you from chasing your dreams -and it needs to be dropped once and for all.
Ready to do just that? Good.
7 Mindsets to Overcome Your Fear of Failure
Your fear only goes as deep as your mind allows it. That means you’re in control. Here are 7 mindsets to help you look at fear of failure from a perspective that will serve you.
Fear Is Your Guidance System
What you fear failing most in life is often what you care most deeply about. It’s a clear message of a true desire. The stakes are higher when it comes to your dreams, so your fears are also naturally amped up. Use your fear as a source of guidance about what to go after.
Life’s Already Dangerous
Life is inherently risky. Loved ones can leave us, bosses can fire us and the car we drive can hit another and abruptly end it all. But you’ve made it this far. Instead of protecting yourself from the possibility of future pain, wouldn’t you rather enjoy full aliveness and exhilaration now? Stop holding yourself back. Life is full of experiences, opportunities and chances that are yours to claim.
Playing It Safe Is the Real Danger
Playing it safe is settling for mediocrity. It means making decisions based on fear and thereby not living up to your full potential. By not following your dreams, you are robbing yourself and the rest of the world of your unique greatness.
Failure Is One Step Closer to Success
Failing at something gets you one step closer to what you want. By taking action, you differentiate yourself from the majority of people. You also gain insight and clarity that can bring you closer to your dream.
Each mistake teaches us something. Before finally succeeding with the light bulb, Thomas A. Edison said, I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
Failure Never Makes YOU a Failure
Failing at something doesn’t mean that you are a failure. It means that what you tried didn’t work. Who you are and what you do are two different things. Never confuse the two. Failing is a practical matter; don’t let it become an emotional one.
Fears Are a Figment of Your Imagination
The job of the mind is to protect you. Anything unknown (including success) is scary to it. To keep you “safe,” it will do just about anything to make you listen to it, including projecting a parade of fears in front of you.
But reality is rarely as bad as you imagine it will be. The majority of all fears exist only in one place: your imagination.
Regret is the Biggest Failure of All
Regret is an ugly emotion. It doesn’t show up like other emotions, as a direct response to something that has happened. Instead regret creeps up slowly, in response to what hasn’t happened. Years can go by before it reveals itself to us, but when it does, we know it’s there as a reminder of something wedidn’t do.
Fear Often Disguises Itself
These mindsets will help you keep the fear of failure at bay. They’ll help protect you, but you’re not scot-free just yet.
Even if you use them to prepare yourself mentally, the fear of failing can still arise. Like an unwanted guest, it can come knocking on your door unexpectedly – and in disguise.
This disguise might look a lot like reason. It could also resemble blame or excuses.
At a first glance, it might look smart and even sensible. Reason is so logical, it’s hard to argue with. Blame says it’s not your fault. And our excuses can seem valid as to why we aren’t taking action toward our dream. Other people will even validate them for us.
It’s easy to point the finger. Maybe it’s the economy. Maybe you don’t have enough time, money, experience, support or skills. Maybe it’s too late or too risky. It’s easy to come up with excuses or reasons and say, See? This is why I can’t pursue my dream.
But when you look deeper, behind the thoughts telling you not to pursue something, ask yourself what the dominant emotion is.
Could it be fear in disguise?
3 Ways to Not Let Fear Guide Your Choices
Making fear-based decisions never takes you in a desired direction. Sometimes, however, it’s difficult to distinguish when fear is guiding you. Here are 3 ways to avoid that:
Tell Your Story in Advance
Imagine telling your children or grandchildren your life story. You start with the sentence: “ had a dream, and then I . . “
What is the story you would like to tell? Did you go for it, or were you too afraid? Will it be a story worth telling? Make it so, and tell it to yourself now. Frequently.
Stop Analyzing What Can Happen
Failure is something we project that might happen in the future. But the future is out of our control, so placing our focus there often leaves us feeling stressed, worried and powerless.
Instead of directing your attention toward what you can’t change or control, focus on what you can. The present moment is where your power lies; this is where your attention should be.
Ask Your 90-Year-Old Self
Imagine being 90 years old and guiding the younger version of yourself.
What advice would you give, knowing what you know now? How would you want your life to be and what do you want to look back on?
Now, listen to this older and wiser version of yourself.
Rising Above Your Fear
Let’s face it. Stepping into the unknown and risking the chance of failing is scary. But remember, it’s this way for everyone.
Taking action toward your dream doesn’t mean you won’t experience the fear of failure; it means you rise above it. You overcome the fear of failure once and for all when you realize that you are bigger than your fear.
Imagine waking up every morning full of empowerment, determination and clarity. Nothing and no one can stop you.You know that you’re moving in the direction of how you want your life to be. Now that’s a pretty nice feeling to wake up to, isn’t it?
Make a slight shift in your mindset, and your perception of failure can change dramatically. And if you ever feel your fears get the better of you again, just get your 90-year-old self to set you straight or use any of the other techniques you just learned.
Don’t play small in life. Don’t end up somewhere you didn’t want to be just because you didn’t want to take risks. Don’t be afraid of failing; be afraid of not giving your dream a chance to be born.
I’m about to share with you the single best exercise for burning fat. But first, I want to explain the number one mistake people are making in the gym, today.
This mistake is leading to some pretty big consequences like:
Causing you to age faster
Breaking down your joints
Causing your body to STORE fat, instead of burn it
Causing your hormones to get out of balanceMost people who want to burn fat and lose weight falsely assume that going to the gym and doing traditional aerobic exercise, like jogging on the treadmill, is the best way to see results.If you’ve been spending hours on the treadmill and not seeing any results, it’s because long distance cardiovascular exercise can decrease testosterone and raise your stress hormone levels like cortisol. Increased levels of cortisol stimulate the appetite, increase fat storage, and slow down or inhibit exercise recovery.The Journal of Sports Sciences found that long periods of aerobic exercise increased oxidative stress leading to chronic inflammation.If you want to see results fast without the negative benefits of cardiovascular exercise, your best option is burst training. Burst training (aka interval training) combines short, high intensity bursts of exercise, with slow, recovery phases, repeated during one exercise session. Burst training is done at 85-100% maximum heart rate rather than 50-70% in moderate endurance activity.Essentially, burst training is exercising like a sprinter rather than a marathon runner.Burst (or interval) training isn’t necessarily new. Elite athletes and Olympians have known this secret to exercising and have been doing interval training for years. The research proves that anybody – not just elite athletes – can do interval training and achieve amazing results, no matter your experience or fitness level.The reason burst training works is because it produces a unique metabolic response in your body. Intermittent sprinting causes your body to not burn as much fat during exercise but after exercise your metabolism stays elevated and will continue to burn fat for the next 24-48 hours!Another study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, April 2007, researched eight different women in their early 20’s. They were told to cycle for 10 sets of four minutes of hard riding, followed by two minutes of rest.Key Benefits of Burst Training
After two weeks, the amount of fat burned increased by 36 percent, and their cardiovascular fitness improved by 13 percent.
Also, chemicals called catecholamines are produced which allow more fat to be burned and this causes increased fat oxidation which drives greater weight loss. The women from the study lost the most weight off their legs and buttocks.
Research from the University of New South Wales Medical Sciences found that burst (interval) cardio could burn more than 3 times more body fat than moderate cardio. The researchers studied two groups and found that the group who did eight seconds of sprinting on a bike, followed by 12 seconds of exercising lightly for 20 minutes, lost THREE TIMES as much fat as other women, who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes.
One of the major benefits of burst training is that it can be done in the comfort of your own home with no or minimal equipment. An easy example of burst training would be going to a track and walking the curves and sprinting the straight aways. Or getting on a spin bike and cycling hard for 20 seconds then going easy for 20 seconds, then repeating that cycle for between 10 to 40 minutes.
Similar exercise methods to burst training include High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and the Tabata method. With burst and other types of interval training you are getting the same cardiovascular benefits as endurance exercise but without the negative side effects. Also, burst training is the fastest way to lose weight and burn fat fast.
So, What’s the #1 Exercise to Burn Fat Fast?
A recent study in Psychoneuroendocrinology showed evidence of long-term high cortisol levels in aerobic endurance athletes. Researchers tested levels of hair cortisol in 304 endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, and triathletes) and compared to non-athletes. The results showed higher cortisol levels with higher training volumes.
But recent research is proving that long distance cardiovascular exercise is NOT the fastest way to burn fat and lose weight.
The number one mistake is doing way too much cardio.
Can burn up to 3x more body-fat than moderate cardio
After two weeks of interval training, fat burning increased by 36%
Your body will continue to burn fat for the next 48 hours after you are done exercising
You can workout in less time and see better resultsBurst training is exactly what we do at Empower Wellness. We have our own YouTube channel where you can watch and participate in burst training right from your living room; plus you have a real life Personal Training to help you through every aspect of your training.
For most people, this doesn’t happen very often. But we’re now learning that there might be more of a reason for you to start making these types of activities a priority.
A movement known as “grounding” or “earthing” is sweeping the holistic health scene. Walking barefoot outside, with the soles of your feet free to directly connect with the surface of the earth, is the main activity that’s a part of the earthing or grounding practice. While it might sound strange at first — ditching your shoes and digging your toes into the dirt or sand, or strolling across some pesticide-free grass — there’s evidence that this can be greatly beneficial for health by lowering free radical damage (also called “oxidative stress”), stress, inflammation and pain.
How Does Earthing or Grounding Work?
Regularly connecting to the earth’s natural, powerful energy is now known to be healing and vital for all people. This is why “reconnection” — with both the earth itself and our body’s own innate healing abilities — is the focus of earthing. The best part about earthing or grounding is that it’s super simple, completely free and can be done anywhere, at any time. It requires nothing but your bare body and willingness to try something that might seem “a bit out there.”
You might be a bit skeptical about this phenomenon, so let me explain more about the basics of how earthing works:
It is an established, though not widely appreciated fact, that the Earth’s surface possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons. The Earth’s negative charges can create a stable internal bioelectrical environment for the normal functioning of all body systems which may be important for setting the biological clock, regulating circadian rhythms, and balancing cortisol levels.
Your body is naturally able to absorb electrical charges from the earth since your skin acts like a “conductor.” Your feet, specifically certain points in the balls of your feet, are believed to especially be good at receiving the earth’s electricity.
But because of our modern way of living — for example, always wearing shoes and living most of our lives above ground in our homes or offices that are located several floors up in tall buildings — we’re losing touch with the earth’s natural “electrical” force.
‘The human body is electrical first and chemical second,” according to earthing expert Clint Ober. Our brain, heart beat and neurotransmitter activity, for example, all rely on electrical signals, so when our electricity if off, so can be certain aspects of our health.
The idea is that by being in touch with the planet, the electrical force coming off the earth is able to help lower inflammation and fight free radicals. In fact, the term “earthing” has even earned a patent as a natural method for reducing disease-causing inflammation.
Vitamin G: The Key to Earthing!
Just like our body needs direct exposure to sunlight to produce adequate amounts of the vital nutrient called vitamin D, we also require a certain level of direct exposure with our home planet to produce something that some holistic practitioners call “Vitamin G.”
You might be familiar with vitamin D deficiency and related symptoms, but likely you’re brand new to vitamin G. Being directly in touch with the earth, our body’s own electricity becomes more stable and in line with that of the earth. Think of it this way: You know the relaxing, healing feeling of spending time outdoors in the sun? Well, you can also get a surge of healthy compounds flooding your system by walking in your bare feet on the earth’s soil or sand.
I will talk more about the benefits of barefoot shoes in just a moment, but I also want to say that to reduce stress and energize your system in the biggest way, you should ideally also get outside and go completely “bare,” with no shoes on at all.
Health Benefits of Earthing or Grounding
Up until this point, unfortunately, so much of our current health care model has provided us with very little, if any, research of the importance of the bio-electrical component to our health. But the idea of the earth having an electrical pulse that impacts our body is nothing new. This has been proven and well-understood for many years and is an important aspect of preventing accidents or injuries in fields like radiation, gas, dynamite or surgery.
So much of the information we have about bio-electrical impacts on our health has been done outside of the field of medical science and health-related research. However, even though we only have a few solid studies on the health benefits of bioelectrical impulses, many of us have “experienced” the benefits firsthand. For instance, have you ever experienced a walk on the beach or a stroll in the park letting your bare feet touch the grass or sand and sensed a feeling of peace? I know I have.
The known benefits of earthing have to do with a reduction of free radicals that takes place in our body when it comes into contact with “free electrons,” whether from the earth or foods that have grown from the earth.
According to a 2012 report in the Journal of Environmental Public Health:
Throughout history, humans mostly walked barefoot or with footwear made of animal skins. They slept on the ground or on skins. Through direct contact or through perspiration-moistened animal skins used as footwear or sleeping mats, the ground’s abundant free electrons were able to enter the body, which is electrically conductive. Through this mechanism, every part of the body could equilibrate with the electrical potential of the Earth, thereby stabilizing the electrical environment of all organs, tissues, and cells.
Here is how this process can specifically benefit your health:
Reduces Inflammation
To put it simply, it’s thought that the influx of free electrons from the Earth’s surface help to neutralize free radicals and reduce both acute and chronic inflammation and accelerated aging. Experts on earthing and grounding believe that this practice can help improve circulation, which means you’re better able to distribute nutrients throughout your body and also carry waste and toxins out. In fact, enhanced circulation can have a tremendous effect on the body in many ways — from boosting energy levels to reducing swelling.
According to a report published in Alternate Therapies in Health and Medicine, “Inflammation is now recognized as an overwhelming burden to the healthcare status of our population and the underlying basis of a significant number of diseases. The elderly generally bear the burden of morbidity and mortality, which may be reflective of elevated markers of inflammation resulting from decades of lifestyle choices.”
How does earthing help stop inflammation? Inflammation, which triggers disease for so many people, is largely believed to be caused by a lack of electrons in your tissues. When your body senses that you’re “under attack” or sick, it delivers reactive oxygen species (ROS) to the site of injury, which is another way of saying that it triggers an inflammatory response in an attempt to heal and defend you. When this takes place, some free radicals can leak in to surrounding tissue and damage otherwise healthy parts of your body by increasing swelling, pain, heat and redness.
The reason that we want to eat plenty of high-antioxidant foods is the same reason we want to practice earthing. Antioxidant electrons in your body help ensure that damage from free radicals doesn’t get out of control and lead to high levels of inflammation and faster aging, just like anti-inflammatory foods do. Basically, the free or mobile electrons from the earth can resolve chronic inflammation by serving as natural antioxidants!
The belief about earthing’s benefits is that electrons can be absorbed from the bottom of your feet when they’re touching the ground, and then these can move anywhere in your body where free radicals are forming. The antioxidant electrons help cancel out free radicals and, therefore, halt damage to DNA and other forms of “oxidative stress.”
Helps Reduce Stress Hormones
Chronic stress can kill your quality of life, as you’ve probably experienced first hand. But luckily, time spent in nature can really help reverse certain feelings of stress and anxiety. One double-blind study that investigated the effects of earthing on 58 healthy adults used conductive adhesive patches placed on the sole of each participant’s foot to read their electrical signals. The subjects were exposed to 28 minutes in the unearthed condition followed by 28 minutes with the earthing wire connected. Controls were unearthed for 56 minutes.
After earthing, about half the subjects showed “an abrupt, almost instantaneous change in root mean square (rms) values of electroencephalograms (EEGs) from the left hemisphere of the brain.” These changes are believed to signify positive changes and lower stress reactions.
Nineteen of 22 earthing participants also experienced decreased blood volume pulses (BVP). After considering the effects on electrophysiological properties of the brain and musculature as recorded using EEG, EMG and BVP readings, the findings suggest significantly higher reductions in overall stress levels and tensions results in the earthing participant’s compared to the control group.
Can Help You Sleep Better
A 2007 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine demonstrated that connecting the human body to the earth during sleep (earthing) normalizes the daily cortisol rhythm and improves sleep patterns. This is because of the effects that stress hormones have on your natural circadian rhythm, energy and ability to sleep soundly.
It’s proposed that the earth’s “diurnal electrical rhythms” set the biological clocks for hormones that regulate sleep and activity. We’ve all had the experience of tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep due to racing thoughts. When our bodies are not in line with the natural rhythms of the earth, including the patterns of light and darkness or “electrical” charges, our sleep and immunity suffers. The indoor-lifestyle that many of us lead might be one reason for rising cases of chronic fatigue syndrome.
One 2006 study published in the Journal of European Biology and Bioelectromagnetics observed the patterns of patients’ cortisol levels before and after grounding. They found that their cortisol rises and dips were scattered and somewhat unpredictable in the adults before they practiced earthing. But after earthing, their levels of cortisol were more in line with the natural rhythms of the earth and sun: They had higher cortisol early in the morning when we naturally need more to feel alert and awake, then they had lower cortisol at night time when we need to unwind in order to fall asleep for the night.
Electrically and chemically speaking, poor sleep is often a symptom of high stress hormones like cortisol. By lowering our reaction to stressful events in our lives, we can fall and stay asleep more easily. And sleep is crucial for healing our body on the most basic level – raising our immunity, giving us enough energy for proper digestion, fighting food cravings or weight gain, and supporting a healthy mindset.
Can Help Increase Energy
Many people have found that earthing or grounding can improve their energy or fight low-grade ongoing fatigue. This can be one side effect of getting better sleep but also be due to improvements in hormones and lower levels of inflammation.
For example, many studies point to the fact that higher cortisol levels rob the body of energy. Physiological stress and cortisol have a close relationship: Stress impacts cortisol, and cortisol can further increase stress responses. This cycle can lead to fatigue and sleep problems, even cravings for low-nutrient foods, sugar and excess calories that further lead to low energy levels.
Can Help Lower Pain
Inflammation is a major source of pain, since it increases swelling, stiffness, reduced mobility and malformation. Inflammation in the joints and tissues are the main cause of pain associated with chronic conditions like arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), for example, is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that usually involves pain in multiple joints as well as symptoms like fatigue, fever, weight loss, eye inflammation, anemia and lung inflammation. In someone with RA, the body releases enzymes that attack its own healthy tissue, therefore destroying the linings of joints. By lowering inflammation, its very possible to help combat pain caused by chronic autoimmune disorders, injuries, headaches, menstrual problems and so on.
One 2010 pilot study compared the pain levels of adults who were grounding compared to a control group following intense exercise that caused muscle soreness. The results showed that grounding the body to the earth altered measures of immune system activity and pain. Among the ungrounded men, there was an expected, sharp increase in white blood cells (sign of an inflammatory response) and greater perception of pain after exercise. In comparison, the grounded men had only a slight decrease in white blood cells, indicating less inflammation and experienced shorter recovery times.
How to Start Earthing
There is no such thing as earthing “too much,” and it’s likely that the more we do, the greater benefits we’ll see. At the same time, even short periods of being in contact with the earth directly over the course of the day can help. Some ways to start having more direct contact with the earth can include: walking barefoot to the mailbox, mowing your lawn, gardening without shoes on, barbecuing outdoors barefoot, laying directly on the sand at the beach instead of sitting in a chair, and many more easy, realistic ways. Sounds rough, right?
Several products are now available that can also help us practice earthing or grounding more often, although just being outdoors barefoot is still the optimal (and simplest) way. For example, a type of electrically-charged bed has been created that features silver wires that are connected to the electrical charge of the earth once plugged into an “earthing” port.
These beds basically have conductive systems that transfer the earth’s electrons from the ground into the body. So even when we’re inside, sleeping in an “earthing bed” might be able to help us absorb the effects of the earth’s electricity and normalize our circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. Laying or sleeping in the bed is almost like sleeping outside on the grass, according to Clint Ober.
Other people like to use “earthing mats.” These look similar to small yoga mats and are placed on the floor. They also have a controller and are connected to electrical fields being given off from the earth’s surface. These are an easy way to practice earthing while working at a desk, standing around the bathroom or kitchen, watching TV or talking on the phone. “Earthing bands” also exist, which are placed on the wrists and arms. Some people like to wear these while cooking, working or doing anything else around the house when they can’t be outdoors.
As you follow the secret detox lifestyle (or any ongoing healthy lifestyle), I recommend that you try to get outside while totally barefoot for at least 30 minutes a day. This can truly help you experience faster healing and reduced stress. Of course, it can also help you avoid the all-too-common vitamin D deficiency, too, and maybe also get some exercise.
Not only is this a powerful value to our ability to detox, it’s a resource that everyone has available to them — and it’s a completely free resource! You can’t beat that value.
Mark Wahlberg does not want to change his life. Jimmy Fallon is happy right where he is. And Beyoncé seems like she’s pretty good for now.
But the rest of us? Not so much. There are few among us who wouldn’t want to seriously tweak, if not downright re-imagine, the lives we lead. We’d do just about anything to have more career success, better health, a rockin’ bod, and a brain that’s firing on all cylinders. But taking the huge steps—the intense diet, the career overhaul, the hours in the gym, or just packing up and moving to Vanuatu to become a professional sun worshipper—are a little beyond our daily means.
Fortunately, there are things you can do starting today that cost almost nothing, take 5 minutes or less, and can begin making a dramatic impact on your overall life. Start each morning with these super-quick rituals, and start reaping the rewards.
Mark Your Wakeup Time
Because It: Doubles Your Brain Power
Whether you wake up with an alarm or just naturally, jot down the exact time you woke up. Over the course of a week, average out your up-and-at-em times, then plot your bedtimes accordingly: You want to aim for exactly 7 hours each night. In a recent Spanish study, sleeping less than six hours or more than eight was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment by 2.6 times in people over the age of 65.
Pour One Cup of Coffee
Because It: Turbocharges Your Sexual Function
A new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston found that men who consumed 85-170 milligrams of caffeine a day were 42 percent less likely to report ED than those who did not. A standard cup of Joe has about 95 mg. However, once you exceed two cups, the benefits start to decline; those who drank 171-303 mg daily had slightly less protection.
Step Outside
Because It: Turns Off Your Fat Genes
Recent research published in the journal PLOS ONE found that getting direct sunlight exposure between the hours of 8 a.m. and noon reduced your risk of weight gain regardless of activity level, caloric intake, or even age. Researchers believe that the sunlight synchronizes your metabolism and undercuts your fat-storage genes.
Take an A.M. Fitness Challenge
Because It: Burns Off Stored Fat
Even a short bout of exercise before your morning meal can burn calories far more efficiently than a typical lunch-hour workout. Because you’re exercising in a “fasted” state, your body burns through its energy stores and has to tap body fat to keep you moving. As a result, you set yourself up for increased fat burn throughout the day.
Grab a Handful of Walnuts
Because It: Flattens Your Belly
Snack on them on your way out the door. Richer in omega-3s than salmon, loaded with more polyphenols than red wine, and packing a mighty dose of fiber and protein, these brain-shaped snacks are like Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. They’re the king of the nuts. A study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that people who eat tree nuts have decreased BMIs and waist sizes.
Bonus Tip: Double-Check Your Cereal
Because It: Prevents Energy Slumps
If your morning ritual involves a serving of healthy, hearty oatmeal, do a double take. A serving of Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Oatmeal has 4 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein and just a single gram of sugar. But their Fruit & Cream flavored oatmeal packs half the fiber and 12 TIMES as much sugar, plus trans fats, which are used to create their “Flavored and Colored Fruit Pieces.” As a general rule, a truly healthy breakfast cereal should have less than 8 grams of sugar. Wheat Chex, Kellogg’s All Bran, Multigrain Cheerios and Kashi Autumn Wheat all make the grade. Better yet, have a smoothie with some berries, kale, chia seeds, and coconut water.
Many of you have recently asked me about leaky gut syndrome…what is it? How did I get it? How do I treat it? So I did what I do and invested some time in a little research. It’s quite possible that this conditions affects more people than we realized. If this post relates to you, get with me and we’ll get started in healing you gut and getting you back to YOU.
Leaky gut syndrome is a rapidly growing condition that millions of people are struggling with and don’t even know it. From the sound of it, you might think leaky gut syndrome only affects the digestive system but in reality it can lead to many other health conditions.
According to research, leaky gut could be the cause of your food allergies, low energy, joint pain, thyroid disease, autoimmune conditions and slow metabolism.
What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?
Think of the lining of your digestive tract like a net with extremely small holes in it that only allow specific substances to pass through. Your gut lining works as a barrier keeping out bigger particles that can damage your system.
When someone has leaky gut (often referred to as increased intestinal permeability) the “net” in your digestive tract gets damaged, which causes even bigger holes to develop in your net, so things that normally can’t pass through, are now be able to.
Some of the things that can now pass through include proteins like gluten, bad bacteria and undigested foods particles. Toxic waste can also leak from the inside of your intestinal wall into your blood stream causing an immune reaction.1
Leaky Gut Symptoms and Progression
This leads to inflammation throughout your system and can cause symptoms, such as:
One of the biggest warning signs that you may have leaky gut can be that you’re experiencing multiple food sensitivities. Partially digested protein and fat can seep through your intestinal lining making their way into your bloodstream which will cause an allergic response.
This allergic response doesn’t mean you’ll break out in a rash all over your body, but it can lead to one of the symptoms I’ve mentioned above. And, if left un-repaired can lead to more severe health issues like inflammatory bowel disease, IBS, arthritis, eczema,2 psoriasis,3 depression, anxiety, migraine headaches, muscle pain and chronic fatigue.
According to the Journal of Diabetes there is a strong body of evidence pointing to leaky gut as a major cause of autoimmune diseases including Type 1 Diabetes.4
Another problem with leaky gut is that it can cause malabsorption of vital minerals and nutrients including zinc, iron and vitamin B12.
What Causes Leaky Gut?
There are 4 main causes of leaky gut which include:
Poor diet
Chronic stress
Toxin overload
Bacterial imbalance.5
We’re about to cover some in-depth nutrition here. Read carefully, and in a few sections I will outline the top 5 Foods and Supplements to heal your leaky gut…
The most common components of food that can damage your intestinal lining are the proteins found in un-sprouted grains, sugar, GMO’s, and conventional dairy.
The problem with unsprouted grains is they contain large amounts of nutrient blockers called phytates and lectins. Lectins are sugar-binding proteins that act as a natural defense system for plants that protect them from outside invaders like mold and parasites.
This is good news for plants but bad news for your body.
Your digestive lining is covered with sugar containing cells that help break down your food. Lectins gravitate toward this area and when they attach to your digestive lining it damages your gut, causing inflammation.
Lectins and Foods that Cause Leaky Gut
Lectins are found in many foods, not just grains, and consumed in smaller amounts your body will do just fine with them. But foods that have large amounts of lectins like wheat, rice, spelt, and soy are more problematic.
Sprouting and fermenting grains reduces phytates and lectins, and makes these foods easier to digest.
GMO and hybridized foods tend to be the highest in lectins since they have been modified to fight off bugs.
Also, gluten containing grains will damage your intestinal lining causing leaky gut. So while you are working to heal your system stay away from all grains especially ones that contain gluten like wheat. Once your gut is healthy you can add back in grains that have been fermented and sprouted to eat occasionally.
Conventional cows milk is another food that can cause leaky gut. The component of dairy that will harm your gut is the protein A1 Casein. Also, the pasteurization process will destroy vital enzymes making sugars like lactose very difficult to digest. For this reason, I only recommend buying dairy that is raw and from: A2 cows, goat’s, sheep, or buffalo.
Sugar is another substance that will wreak havoc on your digestive system. Sugar will feed the growth of yeast, candida, and bad bacteria which will further damage your gut. Bad bacteria actually creates toxins called exotoxins that damage healthy cells and can eat a hole into your intestinal wall.
Other Factors that Cause Leaky Gut
Chronic stress weakens your immune system over time which cripples your ability to fight off foreign invaders like bad bacteria and viruses leading to inflammation and leaky gut. To reduce stress I recommend getting more sleep, schedule fun into your week, rest one day a week, meditate, and hang out with positive uplifting people.
Toxins. We come into contact with over 80,000 chemicals and toxins every single year but the worst offenders for causing leaky gut include antibiotics, pesticides, tap water, aspirin, and NSAIDS. Consider buying a high quality water filter to eliminate chlorine and fluoride and look to natural plant based herbs to reduce inflammation in your body.
Dysbiosis. Finally, one of the leading causes of leaky gut is a condition called dysbiosis, which means an imbalance between beneficial and harmful species of bacteria in your gut. For many, this imbalance can begin at birth because of a C-section or because the mother didn’t have a healthy gut herself. The overuse of prescription antibiotic drugs, tap water with chlorine and fluoride, and the lack of probiotic rich foods contribute to this imbalance of good and bad bacteria.
Leaky Gut and the Brain
Another topic I want to quickly discuss is how leaky gut can affect the brain. If you’ve ever seen a child with autism experience a mood swing, this can be caused by intestinal permeability. Gluten and Casein-Free Diet’s have proven effective for many children with autism because these proteins can leak through the gut and then recirculate and act on the brain similarly to an opioid drug.
This is also why leaky gut has been linked to other psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. So, in many cases, if you can heal the gut you can heal the brain.
The 4-Step Plan to Heal Leaky Gut
The good news is there’s a solution to healing leaky gut. There is a four step process that includes:
REMOVE foods and factors that damage the gut
REPLACE with healing foods
REPAIR with specific supplements
REBALANCE with probiotics
Remember, the top foods to remove that cause leaky gut are sugar, grains, conventional meat, conventional dairy and GMO foods. The top toxic exposures to eliminate are tap water, pesticides, NSAIDS, and antibiotics but remember to always consult with your physician if he has prescribed these for you.
The Leaky Gut Diet and 5 Healing Foods
#1 Bone Broth – broth contains collagen and the amino acids proline and glycine that can help heal your damaged cell walls. Many people successfullyu do a bone broth fast for 3 days to help rapidly repair leaky gut.
#2Raw Cultured Dairy – contains both probiotics and SCFA’s that can help heal the gut. Pastured kefir, yogurt, amasai, butter, and raw cheese are some of the best. If you’re having trouble finding raw dairy, get with me; I can help with this.
#3 Fermented Vegetables – contain organic acids that balance intestinal pH and probiotics to support the gut. Sauerkraut, Kimchi, and Kvass are excellent sources.
#4Coconut Products – all coconut products are especially good for your gut. The MCFA’s in coconut are easier to digest than other fats so better for leaky gut. Also, coconut kefir contains probiotics that support your digestive system.
#5Sprouted seeds – chia seeds, flaxseeds, and hemp seeds that have been sprouted are great sources of fiber that can help support the growth of beneficial bacteria. But if you have severe leaky gut, you may need to start out getting your fiber from steamed vegetables and fruit.
Also, consuming foods that have anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fats are beneficial such as grass-fed beef, lamb, and wild caught fish like salmon.
Top 5 Supplements for Healing Leaky Gut
There are many supplements that support your digestive health but I believe the most beneficial are: L-Glutamine, Probiotics, Digestive Enzymes, Aloe Vera Juice, Quercetin, NAG and Licorice Root.
#1 Probiotics are the most important supplement to take because it helps replenish good bacteria and crowds out bad bacteria. I recommend getting probiotics in both food and supplement form. I see people all the time only follow part of the protocol in healing their gut by removing the damaging irritants. But the part they often leave out is re-inoculating their gut with beneficial bacteria that will keep bad bacteria at bay.
So load up on BOTH probiotic rich foods and take AT LEAST 50 billion units of probiotics daily from a high quality brand.
#2 Digestive enzymes (one or two capsules at the beginning of each meal) ensure that foods are fully digested, decreasing the chance that partially digested foods particles and proteins from damaging your gut wall.
#3 L-Glutamine is critical for any program designed to heal leaky gut. Glutamine is an essential amino acid that is anti-inflammatory and necessary for the growth and repair of your intestinal lining. L-glutamine acts a protector and coats your cell walls, acting as a repellent to irritants. Take 2-5 grams 2x daily.6
#4 Licorice Root (DGL) is an adaptogenic herb that helps balance cortisol levels and improves acid production in the stomach. DGL supports the body’s natural processes for maintaining the mucosal lining of the stomach and duodenum. This herb is especially beneficial if someone’s leaky gut is being caused by emotional stress. Take 500mg 2x daily.
#5 Quercetin has also been shown to improve gut barrier function by sealing the gut because it supports creation of tight junction proteins. It also stabilizes mast cells and reduces the release of histamine which is common in food intolerance. New studies have also shown it’s effectiveness in healing ulcerative colitis. Take 500mg 3x daily with meals.
#6 Bitters are a compound that utilizes the above 5 supplements into one high potency liquid, which is quickly absorbed into the digestive tract.
Many people think weight loss is simply about cutting calories. They believe that to lose weight, you must reduce calories (either eat less or burn more), to gain weight you must add calories, and to maintain weight you keep calories constant. To these folks, calories in, calories out is the only thing that matters. They usually oppose my program because they assume that I “deny” the importance of calories in weight loss.
Well, they’re wrong. I don’t deny the importance of calories. Calories absolutely count. And if someone has lost weight, they have necessarily expended more calories than they consumed. That said, there are some major misconceptions about calories, body weight, fat loss, and health. These calorie myths are often rooted in truth but presented in black-or-white terms that are useless at best, harmful at worst, and do little to help the average person lose body fat.
Let’s dig right in.
Calories in, calories out is all you need to know.
Simple is nice. Simple is good. But overly simple is dangerously inaccurate, so let’s break this statement down.
What does “calories in” refer to?
Calories in — what we eat. We can’t metabolize sunlight or oxygen. We can’t feast on the souls of the damned. The food we eat determines “calories in” entirely. Simple.
“Calories out” is where it gets confusing. There are several components to “calories out”:
Resting energy expenditure — the energy used to handle basic, day-to-day physiological functions and maintenance
Thermic effect of food — the energy used to digest food and process nutrients
Active energy expenditure — the energy used during movement (both deliberate activity like lifting weights, jogging, and walking plus spontaneous activity like shivering and fidgeting)
Not so simple, is it? There are a lot more variables to consider.
Oh, and about those variables…
Calories in and calories out are independent variables.
That would be nice. You could drop energy intake and maintain your resting metabolic rate while burning the same amount of energy digesting food (even though you’re eating less of it) and working out. The fat would melt off at a predictable, constant rate. Anyone with basic arithmetic skills (or a calculator) could become a successful weight loss coach and very few people would be overweight.
In reality, the amount and type of calories we eat affect the amount of energy we expend:
During calorie restriction, the body “defends” its body weight by lowering resting metabolic rate and reducing spontaneous physical activity. To keep weight loss going, you often have to lower food intake even more (to counteract the reduced metabolic rate) and remind yourself to fidget, tap your feet, twiddle your thumbs, and shiver (to recreate the missing spontaneous movement). And you have to do it again when the body readjusts.
Whole foods take more energy to process and digest than processed foods. In one example subjects either ate a “whole food” sandwich (multigrain bread with cheddar cheese) or a “processed food” sandwich (white bread with cheese product). Both meals were isocaloric (same number of calories) and featured roughly identical macronutrient (protein, fat, carb) ratios. Those eating the multigrain sandwiches expended 137 calories postprandially (after their meal). The white bread group expended only 73 calories, a 50% reduction in the thermic effect of food.
Protein takes more energy to process and digest than other macronutrients. Compared to a low-fat, high-carb diet, a high-protein diet increased postprandial energy expenditure by 100% in healthy young women. And in both obese and lean adults, eating a high-protein meal was far more energetically costly (by almost 3-fold) than eating a high-fat meal.
Calories in affects calories out. The two variables are anything but independent of each other.
Weight gain is caused by eating more calories than you expend.
Calorie fetishists love pointing out that weight gain requires overeating. That is, everyone who gains weight necessarily ate more calories than they expended. Okay. We’ve established that everyone agrees on this. But it’s just restating the issue. It doesn’t tell us anything new or useful. It’s merely descriptive, not explanatory.
To show you what I mean, let’s do the same thing with other phenomena.
Why was Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated? Because someone pointed a sniper rifle at him and fired it.
Why did Usain Bolt win the 100 m final in the Beijing Olympics? Because he crossed the finish line first.
Why is the restaurant so crowded? Because more people entered than left.
These are technically true, but they ignore the ultimate causes In King’s case, they fail to discuss racism, the civil rights movement, or the motivation of the shooter. They don’t mention Bolt’s training, genetics, or his childhood. They don’t discuss why the restaurant has attracted so many customers — new menu, Valentine’s Day, graduation? They simply restate the original statement using different words. They just describe what happened.
I’m interested in what truly causes us to eat more than we expend and/or expend less than we eat. I don’t care to merely describe weight gain because that doesn’t help anyone.
A calorie is a calorie.
Look. I loved Carl Sagan. Like everyone else, I got chills when he’d wax poetic about our place in the universe and our shared origins as “star-stuff.” But just because steak comes from the same star-stuff as a baked potato, isocaloric amounts of each do not have identical metabolic fates in our bodies when consumed.
We even have a study that examined this. For two weeks, participants either supplemented their diets with isocaloric amounts of candy (mostly sugar) or roasted peanuts (mostly fat and protein). This was added to their regular diet. After two weeks, researchers found that body weight, waist circumference, LDL, and ApoB (a rough measure of LDL particle were highest in the candy group, indicating increased fat mass and worsening metabolic health. In the peanut group, basal metabolic rate shot up and neither body weight nor waist size saw any significant increases.
Does this invalidate the relevance of energy balance? Of course not. Since the peanut group’s metabolic rate increased, they expended more calories in response to added calories, thus remaining in balance. But it does elegantly and definitively invalidate the simplistic notion that all calories, especially added calories, are treated equally by the body.
Weight loss and fat loss are the same thing.
People don’t want to lose weight. “Losing weight” is common parlance, but we really want to lose body fat and retain, or gain, muscle. And studies indicate that the macronutrient composition can differentially affect whether the weight lost is fat. It’s not just about total calories.
Take the 2004 study from Voltek that placed overweight men and women on one of two diets: a very low-carb ketogenic diet or a low-fat diet. The low-carb group ate more calories but lost more weight and more body fat, especially dangerous abdominal fat.
Or the study from 1989 that placed healthy adult men on high-carb or high-fat diets. Even though the high-carb group lost slightly more body weight, the high-fat group lost slightly more body fat and retained more lean mass.
Just “weight” doesn’t tell us much. What kind of weight? Are we losing/gaining fat or muscle, bone, sinew, organ? Are we increasing the robustness of our colons and the number of bacterial residents (who, though small, carry weight and occupy space) from added prebiotic fiber intake? These factors matter for health. I’d argue that they’re the only factors that actually matter when losing or gaining weight because they offer insight into our health and body composition.
Exercise helps you lose weight only by burning calories.
Most people think of exercise as a way to mechanically combust calories. And that’s true, to a point. Exercise does “burn” calories, and this is a factor in weight loss. But it does lots of other cool things to our physiology that can assist with improving body composition, too.
Compared to something high intensity like burpees or something aerobic like running a 10k lifting free weights doesn’t burn many calories when you’re lifting them. But it does improve insulin sensitivity, which reduces the amount ofinsulin we secrete for a given amount of carbohydrate and increases our ability to burn body fat. It increases muscle mass, which uses calories (protein). It strengthens connective tissue, which also uses calories. It even preserves metabolic rate during weight loss and boosts it for up to 72 hours post-workout. All these changes affect the fate of the calories we ingest.
If calories burnt were the most important factor, then the best way to lose weight would be to hammer it out with as much endurance exercise as you can withstand because that’s the most calorie intensive. But studies show that combination training — aerobic and resistance training — leads to greater reductions in body fat than either modality alone.
Even aerobic exercise isn’t just about mechanically burning calories. It also targets the reward regions of out brains ucing the allure and spontaneously lowering our intake of junk food.
Counting calories allows us to accurately monitor food intake.
You’d think that, wouldn’t you? Most foods at the grocery store have labels. Even restaurants are beginning to emblazon menus with calorie counts for each item. As humans, we implicitly trust the printed word. It looks so official and authoritative, and it spells out with great specificity exactly how many calories we’re about to eat.
Except studies show that’s not the case. Whether it’s the nutritional information provided by restaurants, the calorie counts on supposedly “low-calorie” pre-packaged calorie counts are rarely accurate. Food manufacturers can even underreport calories by 20% and pass inspection by the FDA.
Maybe that’s why people have so much trouble sticking to their allotted number of calories. If only reality would bend to the will of the label!
You may roll your eyes at some of these ideas because they’re so preposterous, but consider where you’re coming from, where you’re reading this. This is how the general public – and, often, the experts and physicians advising their patients and writing policy — approaches the question of fat loss. Sure, not everyone immersed in conventional wisdom holds every one of these myths to be true. And when they’re actually faced with the statement, few will claim that a calorie of steak is metabolically identical to a calorie of white sugar or that weight loss is the same as fat loss. But when calories in, calories out is the first line of attack against excess body fat, these are the kind of myths that become entrenched.
It’s important to take them head-on.
No one wants to be fat. The obese know they’re obese. They’ve had “calories in, calories out” drummed into their heads for years. If it were really as simple as eating less and moving more, they wouldn’t be obese. And yet here we are. That might be the biggest danger of the continued propagation of these myths — they convince people that they’ve failed at something simple, basic, and central to being a healthy, moral human being.
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