Dr. Mercola and Michele Simon on Food Industry

REVIEW OF GREAT TASTE NO PAIN

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Quick Description
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With more than 1 out of 3 adults in the US (70 million) taking OTC or prescription pills for digestive disorders and the pain associated with them, as a nation, we have serious health problems. And we're spreading our problems around the world.

What most people are frustrated with is that even if they eat how most health professionals consider to be healthy, a large percentage of people STILL experience digestive problems. And so most people resort to drugs, surgery or eating bland foods. Or they just continue to suffer.

That's why the Great Taste No Pain System was developed -- to help slash some of the $42 billion dollars spent on those pills in the US alone.

This simple eating system is designed to dramatically reduce the acid pH measure in a person's entire body -- not just in the stomach. It does so by increasing the ratio of alkaline forming foods eaten and by showing you how to combine foods in a way that radically decreases the amount of acid digestive juices in the stomach and small intestines required to break down foods. With me so far? Hope so, because this is important stuff.

One of the primary components of the Great Taste No Pain System is the science of food combining, which was first introduced into the US in 1911 by Dr. William Hay, a New York surgeon who used it to cure his Bright's Disease, a kidney disease which was often fatal at that time. In fact, among the many thousands of lives it claimed was Teddy Roosevelt's first wife, who died of Bright's Disease at just 22 years of age.

A basic knowledge of Junior High chemistry is all it takes to see the logic behind this science: Mixing foods that require alkaline digestive enzymes with foods that require acid digestive enzymes slows and can even stop the digestive process. It can and does delay digestion by as much as 10 hours and more. This is incredibly bad for the body. The Great Taste No Pain system alleviates this problem, speeding food through your body, allowing it to absorb nutrients from foods at a much higher level.

In addition, one of the manuals in the Great Taste No Pain system, 'Foods That Create Acid, Foods That Take It Away,' is as clear as I've ever seen this data presented. Follow this simple guide and your body will use a minimum of energy in the digestion process, which leaves more energy for healing and other daily functions your body carries out.

This is a timely set of guides, because with our society's addiction to the convenience of processed foods, in many respects our health challenges are far worse than they were in 1911.

Great Taste No Pain author, Sherry Brescia, was a former Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) sufferer herself. In fact, in 1991, she spent 7 days in the hospital with bacterial colitis.

As a health insurance researcher and Chief Underwriter, she was able to research the benefits of an alkaline- balanced body and over the next 15 years perfected the system she now calls Great Taste No Pain.

She meshed a number of philosophies proven to help alkalize the body to create this simple system that anyone can follow regardless of where they are or what food choices they have available to them.

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What I Like:
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Taste: Unlike most restrictive diets, Great Taste No Pain cannot actually be called a diet, because it allows you to eat even great volumes of luscious, delicious food as long as you combine it according to a few simple guidelines. It truly requires very little willpower. Perhaps the greatest news for people who love to eat is that the 176 page recipe book in the system is stuffed with breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks that are unbelievably tasty. No rabbit food. Gourmet all the way, yet the meals (if you like to cook) only take between 15 and 30 minutes of prep time and make tons of yummy leftovers. So you can throw away the belief that you can't eat healthy on a super-busy schedule.

Speed: I love that you don't have to read 300+ pages before learning what to do. In the first guide, 'How To End Stomach Pain Forever, Even If Your MD says, "No Way,"' it provides a brief background on the science and then quickly moves onto the step-by-step 'how to.' I really love that.

Simplicity: The second Guide in the GTNP System is 'What To Eat With What.' This is a massive compilation. Every kind of food that you could possibly put in your mouth is listed, along with the corresponding foods that combine with it for easy comfortable digestion, and those foods that don't. This guide is so complete and so easy to follow, if you screw this up, it's back to pre-school for you.

More Simplicity: Traveling is the one thing that can ruin even the healthiest eaters. But in Great Taste No Pain, Sherry gives you a 'Pocket Guide For Pain-Free Dining Out.' This tool is phenomenal. You can store this little baby with your credit cards and, until you understand what combines with what, all you have to do is pull out your pocket guide and quickly note the rule, so you can eat and
enjoy the rest of your day, pain-free.

Would you believe that you could eat McDonald's food and not suffer gassiness and reflux? Now you can!

Meat: While meat is not something people with digestive issues usually tolerate well on a daily basis (hence the daily pain), the problem isn't so much the meat as it is what you eat with the meat.

That is why each of the Guides in the system, including the recipe book, lists every possible food you can combine with meats without suffering. Most people will suddenly be able to eat beef, chicken, fish, pork, turkey, venison and any other type of meat they want. As long as you combine it right... no pain at all! And broccoli, lettuce, cucumbers and other veggies that can create havoc suddenly will not. That I love.

Fruit: Ask anyone that suffers stomach problems about fruit and you'll hear horror stories. So sadly, the most perfect food on the planet is shunned by a huge part of our world's population. No longer. Because you will soon learn why fruit causes you trouble and how to easily change that. You CAN eat fruit again, even if it now makes you turn blue! It's true!

While each Guide in the system is detailed and complete, they are "dumbed down" in the clearest language possible. So I don't doubt Sherry's claim that any 11 year old could teach it. This I really love.

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Things To Watch For:
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The one thing you want to be careful of is that once you start eating as prescribed in Great Taste No Pain, you could quickly begin to feel all powerful. You might start to think you are "cured" of your digestive problems since they went away so fast and since you have so much extra energy.

That would be a mistake.

Because technically there is no "cure" for most digestive problem, because technically they are not diseases at all. They are maladies brought on by eating the wrong foods and by eating them in the wrong combinations. So the principles in Great Taste No Pain is not a "cure," since people with sensitive stomachs will always be sensitive. GTNP is merely a way to make all symptoms go away forever and give you a lot more energy.

For example, let's say you've got it bad and have Diverticulitis or Crohn's. Great Taste No Pain can help you get rid of your symptoms very quickly.

But a year later, if you start eating like you used to, guess what? Yep, the symptoms will come back. You see, the principles that Great Taste No Pain is based on are sound. They work for everyone. But if you think that because you've been symptom-free for a long time, you've been "cured," think again. Go against these principles of easy digestion, and the problem can come back with a vengeance. Remember, good health comes from living a healthy lifestyle, not a"do it once and you're fixed" approach.

Another thing you might want to be prepared for is that since Great Taste No Pain cleanses your digestive tract, initially you could get a little diarrhea. If you experience constipation on a fairly regular basis, you might get a little "looseness" at first, but it will end soon.

Also, due to the detoxing going on, you might get a runny nose or get some other cold-like symptoms at first. It's nothing to worry about. If you do, while it might not be fun, it does mean it's working. It means your body is becoming purer and the toxins are leaving. And that is a very good thing.

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Conclusion:
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When I began following the system, I personally was amazed at the amount of energy I had, even late into the evening. I had no discomfort, no bloating, I didn't feel the need to eat again within an hour and no need for caffeine after meals.

Professionally and personally, my strong recommendation is that for anyone who wants more energy, sounder and longer sleep, migraine headaches to stop almost immediately, pain from gastritis and acid reflux to stop almost instantly, and the pain of digestive problems to stop or be reduced dramatically, get over to:
- http://www.greattastenopain.com/cmdt.asp?id=1549007&t=374931

now and get the whole system. You will be thrilled.

And frankly, it won't take a full day for most people to feel a major difference in their bodies. Often it just takes one meal. After you have been following it for a week or more, feel free to let me know how you like it. I personally believe that anyone who adopts this simple, enjoyable food combining method will reap gigantic health benefits. So if that is what you are looking for, get over
to - http://www.greattastenopain.com/cmdt.asp?id=1549007&t=374931
and get started today.

All my best,

Chris

Fit Fix: How Sugar Screws with Your Brain

Intermittent fasting is January's hottest weight-loss trend

Intermittent fasting, or IF, is being hailed as the hottest weight-loss trend of January, the NY Daily News reported Jan. 6.

The trend was fueled by the runaway success of The Fast Diet (or 5:2 diet), in which dieters fast two days of the week and eat whatever they want the other five days. Typically dieters eat 500 calories (600 for men) on their "fasting" days and follow their normal diets the other days.

Studies showed that people who followed the 5:2 diet experienced rapid weight loss without deprivation. What's more, research suggests that intermittent fasting protects brain health, helps maintain lean muscle mass, and boosts the release of anti-aging hormones.

Now, another diet, The Every-Other-Day Diet (or 4:3 diet), is being touted for its ability to produce fast weight loss and improve insulin sensitivity. On the 4:3 plan, dieters fast for four days and then take the remaining three days off. The author, Dr. Krista Varady, said she easily shed 41 pounds on the plan while still enjoying all her favorite foods.

Nutrition experts said a major advantage of intermittent fasting is that it's easier to maintain than a linear diet where you're constantly depriving yourself.

"We think that once the people get adjusted to the diet, it is easy to adhere to," said Dr. Mattson, chief of the neurosciences lab at the National Institute on Aging. "If you know that tomorrow you can eat normally, you can make it through today."

Previous research has indicated that intermittent fasting melts body fat and promotes the release of anti-aging hormones. Actor Hugh Jackman followed a 16/8 intermittent fasting plan to achieve his rippling Wolverine body.

Suggested by the author

Intermittent fasting spurs rapid weight loss and protects brain, says study

Hugh Jackman details 16/8 intermittent fasting and 6,000-calorie-a-day diet

Man loses 37 pounds in 3 months on all-McDonald's diet: 'Obesity is a choice'

Dr. Oz: Low-carb ketogenic diet prevents Alzheimer's, causes rapid weight loss

Dr. Oz reveals two-week rapid weight-loss diet: Lose 9 pounds in 14 days

http://www.examiner.com/article/intermittent-fasting-diet-is-january-s-hottest-weight-loss-trend

Sandra Aamodt: Why dieting doesn't usually work

An apple a day keeps your heart healthy | GulfNews.com

An apple a day keeps your heart healthy | GulfNews.com

Blending vs Juicing

Why a Brisk Walk Is Better

Why a Brisk Walk Is Better

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Walking, fast or slow, is wonderful exercise. But now a first-of-its-kind study shows that to get the most health benefits from walking, many of us need to pick up the pace.

The findings stem from a new analysis of the National Walkers’ Health Study, a large database of information maintained at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory about thousands of middle-age men and women who walk regularly for exercise. Recruited beginning in 1998 at walking events and from lists of subscribers to walking-related publications, these volunteers filled out a lengthy survey about their typical walking distance and pace, as well as their health history and habits.

As most of us would likely guess, walking is the most popular physical activity in America. But people who walk for exercise do so at wildly varying speeds and intensities. Some stroll at a leisurely 2 miles per hour, which is low-intensity exercise. Others zip along at twice that pace or better, resulting in a sweatier workout.

Exercise guidelines generally suggest that for health purposes, people should engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week. For walkers, a moderately intense pace would probably be about 15 or 16 minutes per mile.

It has generally been assumed that if people walk more slowly but expend the same total energy as brisk walkers — meaning that they spend more time walking — they should gain the same health benefits. But few large-scale studies have directly compared the impact of moderate- and light-intensity walking, especially in terms of longevity.

To do so, Paul T. Williams, a statistician at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, gathered data about 7,374 male and 31,607 female participants from the walkers’ health study, who represented almost every speed of fitness walker, from sluggish to swift. His findings were published online this month in PLoS One.

Dr. Williams divided participants into four numerically equal categories, based on their normal pace. Those in Category 1, the fleetest, averaged less than 13.5 minutes per mile, putting them on the cusp of jogging, while those in Category 4, the slowest, strolled at a relatively dilatory 17 minutes or more per mile. The majority of the walkers in this group in fact required at least 20 minutes to complete a mile, and many had a pace of 25 minutes or more per mile. (Interestingly, on average, female walkers were faster than men in all of the categories.)

Next, Dr. Williams cross-referenced his data against that in the essential if somewhat ghoulish National Death Index to determine which of the almost 39,000 walkers had died in the decade or so since they had joined the survey and from what.

It turned out that nearly 2,000 of the walkers had died. More telling, these deaths disproportionately were clustered among the slowest walkers. Those in Category 4 were about 18 percent more likely to have died from any cause than those in the other three categories and were particularly vulnerable to deaths from heart disease and dementia.

Unexpectedly, the death rate remained high among the slowest walkers, even if they met or exceeded the standard exercise guidelines and expended as much energy per day as someone walking briskly for 30 minutes. This effect was most pronounced among the slowest of the slow walkers, whose pace was 24 minutes per mile or higher. They were 44 percent more likely to have died than walkers who moved faster, even if they met the exercise guidelines.

One important inference of these statistics is that intensity matters, if you are walking for health. “Our results do suggest that there is a significant health benefit to pursuing a faster pace,” Dr. Williams said. Pushing your body, he said, appears to cause favorable physiological changes that milder exercise doesn’t replicate.

But there are nuances and caveats to that conclusion. The slowest walkers may have harbored underlying health conditions that predisposed them to both a tentative walking pace and early death. But that possibility underscores a subtle takeaway of the new study, Dr. Williams said. Measuring your walking speed, he pointed out, could provide a barometer of your health status.

So check yours, your spouse’s or perhaps your parents’ pace. The process is easy. Simply find a 400-meter track and, using a stopwatch, have everyone walk at his or her normal speed. If a circuit of the track takes someone 6 minutes or more, that person’s pace is 24 minutes per mile or slower, and he or she might consider consulting a doctor about possible health issues, Dr. Williams said.

Then, with medical clearance, the slow walkers probably should try ramping up their speed, gradually.

The most encouraging news embedded in the new study is that longevity rises with small improvements in pace. The walkers in Category 3, for instance, moved at a speed only a minute or so faster per mile than some of those in the slowest group, but they enjoyed a significant reduction in their risk of dying prematurely.

A New York Times piece on why walking is better when you pick up the pace
Well.blogs.nytimes

Fitness Training Plan

How To Create a Fitness Training Plan

How many pounds do you want to lose? Five, ten, fifty, two hundred?

You may be able to lose five pounds by starting to eat breakfast everyday, but it is going to take more than that to achieve the hefty goals. Your hefty goals are achievable though! They will take some work and you are going to need a plan, but it is worth it. As the saying goes “failing to plan is planning to fail”. If you fail to plan, don't expect to meet your goals, but if you have a solid fitness training plan, your chances of succeeding will be much higher.

Let's look at three parts of a fitness plan that you are going to need to have: the what, how often, and when.

The what

Diet. Yes, the inevitable diet lecture. Nothing will affect your health more than your diet. You can lift weights all day long and not lose a pound if your diet doesn't permit you. I suggest implementing three simple tips, from there you can decide if there is a more specific diet plan that you would like to follow.

1. Drink water before each time you eat. When we feel hungry, many times we are actually just thirsty. Drinking water before each time you eat (one or two glasses) is able to help you discern when you are actually hungry and even if you are hungry, water can sometimes help as an appetite suppressant.

2. Do not eat after 8pm. At night your body is slowing down. It is trying to “take it easy” and get ready for bed. If you keep stuffing it with food, your body is going to have to work more during the night to digest the food that you eating.

3. Radical substitution. If you are trying to meet weight loss goals, junk food is your enemy. Substituting your unhealthy food with healthy food can make a huge difference in your eating habits. Since junk food is your enemy, you need to see it as an enemy and treat it like an enemy. Getting junk food out of your house and replacing it with fruits, veggies, healthy crackers, etc. will go a long way. If you don't have a certain food in your house, there is a much smaller chance of you eating it.

Exercise. Exercising can sometimes seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. You don't need to be Arnold Schwarzenegger or bench press a car, start small. Start somewhere. That could mean taking a 5 minute walk around your house every morning before work. That could mean doing 5 push-ups and sit-ups before you go to bed. You don't have to have a gym membership and $200 running shoes to be able to exercise. Chose a starting point, even if it may seem insignificant, and go from there.

Sleep Studies show that those who do not get a significant amount of rest, gain weight compared to those who sleep more. When your body is tired it can be harder to control your appetite. Eating late at night, through the middle of the night, and eating junk food is all capable of ruining your overall weight loss plan.

How often

Some may suggest that if your following a diet you can have a “splurge day”. While I see the point, I think it would beneficial to stay away from “splurging” and keep your diet going 24/7/365. Your goal is not just to lose weight, it is to live a healthy lifestyle, so that you can maintain that weight loss and live a healthier life. “Splurging” will keep you familiar with how good that junk food tastes and, if you do have an addiction to sugar, it could keep your addiction alive.

So how often should you stick to your diet? All the time. That doesn't mean your diet has to be super strict or vegan, but try to have a “lifestyle change” mindset, not just a “diet change” mindset. If junk food is the enemy of your goals, it would be wise to stay away from it 24/7.

When deciding how often you should exercise, consider your schedule and base your exercise routine around that. We only have so many hours in a day and keeping your priorities inline is critical. If your weekends are often free, it may be smart to schedule workouts on Saturday, Sunday, and then one day through the week. If your time is very limited and you can only workout once or twice a week, then do that. Just make sure you start somewhere. One of the most common reasons people don't finish their endeavors is because they fail to even start them. Start moving in the right direction and do something.

When

Deciding what time of the time you will workout is actually more critical than you think. It's safe to say that if you are not able to be consistent with a specific time of day, it will be difficult to be consistent in implementing your overall plan. Your exercise routine could be scheduled for different times on different days, but sticking to what you have planned as much as possible is critical to your long-term discipline and success.

Don't wait, create your fitness training plan today! I hope you were encouraged to start moving towards your health goals. 

(An article submitted by tonycollege on www.fitness.com)