Dumbbells and Barbells
Free weights are a classic companion for a great whole body workout! Free weights improve the physiological movements of the body, respecting joint movement and bio-mechanics. With the use of free weights we can involve large muscles and improve coordination skills between and within muscles.
By setting greater muscle mass in motion, the more natural and full the results and improvements will be. Always consider technique and execution, as with more freedom of movement there is also a greater chance of injury! Perform all exercise with good technique and remember if you can’t lift it, don’t lift it!
Vitamin D3: Best...Supplement...Ever!
The facts about one of the greatest discoveries in functional medicine
by Charles Poliquin
An osteopathic physician recently asked me, “What’s with all this hype over vitamin D3?” It was a good question. There have been countless supplements, especially in the field of bodybuilding, that have failed to live up to their promises. I remember when the next big things were AKG, vanadyl sulfate and boron (which, incidentally, is the primary ingredient in 20 Mule Team Borax!). But vitamin D3 is the real deal. Write this down:
“Vitamin D3 may be the single most important supplement we can take for our health.”
I’m serious! Fish oil also has amazing properties, but it takes a backseat to vitamin D3. Listen, I get a lot of feedback from the field. I hear from experts from all over the world. There is consensus among the best practitioners: They have verified over and over that just about everyone is deficient in vitamin D3 and that supplementation is essential.
The evidence is indisputable. The scientific literature is overwhelmed with data that confirm what all these experts have seen. I see the truth of it every day and have been teaching about the importance of vitamin D3 supplementation for some time now. The bottom line is that virtually every disease and adverse health condition is associated with low vitamin D3 levels. Consequently, many of these problems may be fixed with adequate vitamin D3 supplementation, or can be avoided by keeping vitamin D3 levels in the high normal range.
For a long time vitamin D3 was simply regarded as the anti-rickets and bone health vitamin – an underwhelming bit of knowledge. Because it was originally labeled as a vitamin, it was assumed that it wasn’t that important. Now it is more properly recognized as a prohormone that is essential to life. Even if it were only good for bone health, vitamin D3 still would be an important supplement, but the benefits go way beyond just bone health.
Let’s look at this in another way. What if a big pharmaceutical company made a revolutionary breakthrough and announced they had come across a compound so important that it could improve the lives of virtually everyone in the world? What if they told us that for less than 20 cents a day (or about 0.15 Euro) we could significantly reduce our risk for some of the most widespread diseases? What if they also announced that the side effects were actually good and that we would receive all these benefits without any real risk of adverse conditions? And that we wouldn’t even need governmental intervention to make it affordable? The answer is that this would be the biggest blockbuster drug ever to hit the market. Everyone would want a prescription and wouldn’t even mind paying for it themselves.
I’d like you to consider some of the research and benefits and make your own decision. Don’t just skim this; read through it and understand what’s being said in the research. The two best sources I’ve found have compiled a tremendous amount of research and information: www.vitamindcouncil.org (click on “research” on the left and you will be amazed) and www.vitamindhealth.org (Dr. Michael Holick’s website). But to get you started, here are some excellent, peer-reviewed articles.
1. Rickets, bone density, osteoporosis, osteopenia, osteomalacia: Low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteopenia and fractures. JAMA. 2002;287:3127-3129.
2. Fetal brain development and maternal health: Med Hypotheses. 2010 Jan;74(1):71-5. Epub 2009 Aug 18.
3. Psoriasis: “Hyperproliferative skin disorders such as psoriasis might be responsive to treatment with vitamin D....” “[Treatment with vitamin D] …showed great improvement in reducing the severity and area of psoriatic lesions.” Holick, MF. High prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2006 Mar;81(3):353-73.
4. Cancer: “Both prospective and retrospective epidemiologic studies indicate that levels of 25-OH D below 20 ng [nanograms] per milliliter are associated with a 30 to 50% increased risk of incident colon, prostate, and breast cancer, along with higher mortality from these cancers....” “Vitamin D either directly or indirectly controls more than 200 genes, including genes responsible for the regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis.” Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(3):266-81.
5. Blood sugar regulation and insulin resistance: “Vitamin D deficiency increased insulin resistance, decreased insulin production, and was associated with the metabolic syndrome.” Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(3):266-81.
6. Depression and other neurological concerns: “Several studies suggest an association between hypovitaminosis D and basic and executive cognitive functions, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.” Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2009 Feb;11(1):12-9.
7. Multiple Sclerosis: “High circulating levels of vitamin D are associated with a lower risk of multiple sclerosis.” JAMA. 2006;296:2832.
8. Immune function: “When serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D fall below 20 ng per milliliter, the monocyte or macrophage is prevented from initiating this innate immune response” Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(3):266-81.
9. Cold, flu, and respiratory tract infection: shortened duration of symptoms in study of African women.
10. Symptoms associated with autoimmune conditions: Vitamin D deficiency affects the immune system’s capacity to self-regulate and can therefore lead to tissue damage via overproduction of potentially pathogenic cytokines.
11. Hypertension and congestive heart failure: “In a study of patients with hypertension who were exposed to ultraviolet B radiation three times a week for 3 months, 25-OH D levels increased by approximately 180% and blood pressure became normal.” “Vitamin D deficiency is associated with congestive heart failure.” Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(3):266-81.
12. Muscle mass and strength: “Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle weakness.” “Performance speed and proximal muscle strength were markedly improved when 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels increase from 4 to 16 ng per milliliter (10 to 40 nmol [nanomole] per liter) and continued to improve as the levels increase to more than 40ng per milliliter (100 nmol per liter). Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(3):266-81.
13. Weight Loss: “For every increase of 1 ng/mL in level of 25-OH D3, subjects ended up losing almost 0.2 kg more on their calorie-restricted diet.” Shalamar Sibley, prepublication report for the Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting.
14. And even longevity, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, thyroid conditions…
...and this just scratches the surface of the research!
Now the question becomes “How do I get my vitamin D3 to optimal levels?” This is the best part, since it’s very easy to fix vitamin D3 deficiency. There are a couple of different approaches that have been shown to work very well. One way is to just supplement with 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 every day and it’s likely your levels will be at least in the normal range within about three months, but remember, high normal is better than mid normal. Expect it to take another couple of months to reach high normal.
Another approach, which I prefer, is to supplement twice per week with about 30,000 to 100,000 IU of D3. Based on the research and clinical evidence, this method seems to accelerate the increase in blood levels of 25(OH) D3 (the marker that should be tested for). Although the kidneys still need to convert 25(OH) D3 into 1.25(OH)2 D3, the relevant lab value is 25(OH) D3. You should be shooting to get your levels between 80 and 100 ng/mL.
Now let’s go back to our “what if” scenario and ask the question again: What if there were one natural supplement that had been shown in scientific research to improve bone health, improve the development of babies’ brains, reduce the incidence of skin problems like psoriasis, prevent or remedy multiple sclerosis, reduce the risk of cancer, improve blood sugar levels and reduce insulin resistance, improve neurological conditions including depression and bipolar disorder, enhance immune defense against cold, flu and other infections, lower blood pressure and protect the heart, improve muscle function, increase the ability to lose bodyfat and even help people live longer? What if that compound existed and could be manufactured properly at a very affordable price? I’m happy to give you an answer that is not hypothetical and that you can believe: Vitamin D3 is, literally, the best supplement ever!
The top 5 myths to bust about weight optimization
Myth: If I am over-weight, I eat too much.
Truth: Most of my clients are surprised by how much food I ask them to eat and how they are able to achieve their optimal weight by doing so. Starving your body triggers our hard-wired survival mechanisms to kick in, slow our metabolism and conserve body fat. Consuming regular, nutrient dense meals revs the metabolism, encouraging fat burning and optimal function in all bodily systems.
Myth: To lose weight, I need to count my calories.
Truth: The composition of your meals and snacks has a much greater impact on optimal body weight than calorie counting alone. For example; one medium sweet potato (102 calories), a handful of leafy greens (4 calories) and a boneless, skinless chicken breast (142 calories) contains slightly less calories than a 2oz Snickers bar. I have seen many average folks and elite athletes alike lose fat and gain muscle eating balanced, nutritious meals like the one described above. I have yet to meet a single person who was able to achieve the same goal by eating the same amount of calories from candy bars.
Myth: If I skip breakfast I’ll eat less during the day.
Truth: You’ve heard this from your mother, probably your Grandma too, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day, ESPECIALLY if you are trying to optimize your weight. Studies have proven that the habit of eating a balanced breakfast not only promotes healthy body weight but also ensures you will maintain your optimal weight once your goal is achieved.
Myth: If I want to lose weight, I can’t eat carbohydrates.
Truth: Carbohydrates are one of 3 macro-nutrients required by the body (the others being protein and fat). It’s called a macro-nutrient because it is of major importance and necessary to sustain life. Carbohydrates are the preferred fuel source for the body. Our brain requires a steady stream of carbohydrate energy in order to process our thoughts, focus and achieve clarity. Cutting out carbs is a dangerous business that can leave you feeling fatigued, cranky and craving. This is particularly worrisome if you are introducing physical activity into your New Year’s plan. Instead of eliminating carbohydrates from the menu, pay special attention to the type of carbs you choose. These include all veggies, fruit and grains; the higher the fibre, the better your choice for optimal weight. Know your metabolic type!
Myth: Fat in my diet turns to fat in my body.
Truth: In my opinion, fat gets a bad rap. You’d think from all the “low-fat”, “fat-free” labels on food packages these days fat was the worst thing you would possibly eat. But if you remember from the previous point on macro-nutrients, you’ll see fat listed among the big 3. Fat is the substance that surrounds and protects every cell of our body and is therefore an important factor in healthy immunity. Extremely low-fat diets can harm our health as much as excess amounts of “bad fats” (found in deep fried foods and animal fats). When working towards your optimal weight, choose healthy fats as part of a whole food, such as nuts, seeds and oily fish. Adequate intake of healthy fat will actually support your weight optimization goal, not hinder it. Ideally, your diet should contain 10% fats and oils based on your metabolic type.
There are a lot of “diet plans” out there. Be aware of where your information is coming from and whether or not it is appropriate for what YOUR body needs. Especially this winter, when strong immunity is so important, you don’t want to end up looking good on the outside while your total health takes a body blow from getting really sick!
Fuel Feature
Green Superfoods, such as spirulina, kale, broccoli and spinach are some of my all-time favourites for their therapeutic benefits. They assist in cleansing and detoxifying the body, absorbing toxic heavy metals and chemicals from our environment and our food, and help eliminate them from our system. Green Superfoods have a balancing effect on the blood sugar, helping to do away with cravings, as well (like that lingering sugar craving from the holidays!). Green Superfoods are also very alkalizing to the body, meaning they calm excess acidity and promote an internal environment that is inhospitable to germs, viruses and bacteria.
Whether your goal is to detoxify from all that holiday food and start the new year with a clean slate, kick start a weight loss plan or give your immune system a super charge, Green Superfoods, like those found in LivingFuel SuperGreens is a perfect choice.
What is Chiropractic?
by Charles Poliquin
Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on improving the negative effects of musculoskeletal and nervous system disorders. Chiropractic care is most often used to treat complaints of back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches. Other symptoms may also be improved -- just ask.
Doctors of Chiropractic practice a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as provide nutritional and lifestyle counseling. The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic is known as "spinal manipulative therapy". Spinal manipulation helps to:
What does an adjustment feel like?
You may feel light pressure on your spinal joints and/or hear a popping sound resulting from quickly moving joints. Chiropractic adjustments rarely cause discomfort and some patients may experience mild soreness or aching following treatment (similar to some exercise soreness) which usually resolves within 12 to 48 hours.
Why is Chiropractic used?
As a result of injury, overuse or even postural imbalances, muscles and joints become tight and restricted. In order to restore normal joint movement and function, spinal manipulative therapy may be needed.
Making Friends with Your Anger
By JP Sears, Holistic Health Coach www.holistichealthandfitness.com
When we experience anger we can feel as though we’re a small little boat being tossed around in a very turbulent and dark sea. The stressful movement of dropping from the crest of an enormous wave down into the trough below can make us feel very helpless. However this e-motional internal storm that we may feel powerless over is actually created by us. Therefore, with the light of our conscious awareness piercing through the stormy clouds, we can realize that we do in fact have the supremacy to determine our internal weather patterns.
Becoming friends with this experience of anger facilitates the experiential transition from riding out a stormy, rough ocean to gently drifting about in a peaceful, glassy sea. Many would jump into this peaceful concept believing that eliminating their anger is the way to transition to the calmer waters. I ask you to consider the possibility that harmonizing the storm of our anger into peace and calm isn’t about denying ourselves the experience of being angry, but rather it is about giving ourselves permission to be angry while acknowledging that our anger is always a symptom of something deeper within.
How can giving one’s self permission to be angry possibly bring about higher levels of inner peace? My experience is that what intensifies anger the most is repressing it. Many people believe that it is not okay to be angry and that anger is a sign of weakness. In turn, they feel that not expressing anger is not having anger. But just because it is not expressed, does that mean it’s not there? Ask yourself which has more internal pressure, the soda bottle that is shaken and then has the cap slowly twisted off or the soda bottle that is shaken and the top is continued to be sealed tightly? To a third party it may look as if the tightly sealed soda bottle is more peaceful, after all the other one is hissing. But is the amount of internal pressure and stress built up a different story from a first person perspective?
Which Polarity is Your Anger?
My experience working with clients as well as observing myself and others lends me to have the belief that there are two types of people, those who have anger and those who have anger but don’t believe they have anger. Like anything in life, anger has polarity. The nature of anger’s polarity is such that it can be experienced either actively or passively. Those who experience their anger in the passive pole are typically those who may be seduced into denying that they have anger at all. I certainly have plenty of first hand experience of being passive with anger and denying that I have it!
For many years I simply thought to myself, “Gosh, I pretty much have life mastered. I never get angry, I never yell, I never fight with anyone. I am a pretty enlightened guy!” It was actually pretty fun to be swimming in this pool of denial. As I learned to be more sensitive with myself I began to notice that when I get emotionally triggered I become very quiet. I can watch myself withdraw emotionally from a situation and go into a cocoon, which is a very passive way for me to experience my anger. In contrast, my childhood experiences of my father nominate him as an excellent example of anger experienced actively. When triggered he’ll put on the whole active anger show of yelling, screaming, arms flailing, etc. Neither my dad or I are any more or less functional than the other, it is simply the case that we have different modes of experiencing anger.
If an important foundational step in making friends with our anger is first recognizing how we express our anger, I’ll invite you to introspectively consider which of anger’s polarities you take up more residence in, the active or passive.
The Purpose of Anger
I know that for me it took a long time to appreciate the function of anger rather than seeing it as an ugly, negative enemy. I would also believe that there are some self-growth practitioners and life coaches who would choose to disagree with my belief that when we come to understand the nature of what our anger means we find out that anger is very healthy and purposeful.
For the skeptics, let me respond with a question. Could it be that anger is always a symptom and never the genesis of the issue? If this is true then we may come to find out that we use anger to blame others for how we feel about ourselves so that we don’t have to experience the sensitivity of how part of us is truly feeling. In other words, could it be that anger allows us to deflect from feelings that cause us to feel unsafe and unvalued, such as fear and shame? We can then come to realize that the part of us that has a sense of fear or shame doesn’t want to feel these very threatening emotions. Instead, it distracts itself from these internal feelings through the mechanism of focusing its attention externally toward another, often in the shape of anger. To this part of us, it simply seems too threatening to sit with the responsibility of feeling our core emotions and this gives rise to the symptom of anger.
As an illustration, imagine a scene at a bar. Guy #1 tries to dance with guy #2’s girlfriend. Does guy #2 go up to guy #1 and say, “I have to tell you that a part of me has some fear that my girlfriend might leave me for another guy, and that I’d feel very lonely if that happened. So because I have this fear, would you mind refraining from dancing with her?” Have you ever witnessed this taking place? Probably not unless you frequent bars that are heavily occupied by Zen masters! But what is familiar in this scenario is the expression of symptomatic anger to deflect from the core of fear. Guy #2 will likely have a few angry words for guy #1 and the physical expression of anger is likely to follow, all because guy #2 doesn’t feel safe enough to feel his core emotion of fear.
Many people say they have been angry for years or even decades at another person. They are simply saying that they have not yet had the awareness to look beyond the symptom
of their anger for the core feelings they have about themselves. How would you respond if you asked yourself, “Could it be even halfway true that everyone who I’ve ever been angry at, including myself, has simply been a target for my projected, hidden core feelings about myself?”
Repressed Anger
If it is true, as I mentioned earlier, that there are those of us who have anger and there are those of us who are in denial about our anger, then it is safe to say there is a lot of repressed anger. It is important to understand that there are consequences of repressing our anger.
Anger isn’t tangible. We cannot smell, taste or see it. Because of this we can easily fool ourselves into thinking that it isn’t there when we repress it. It is a similar scenario for people who are constipated from suppressing their bowel urges for too long. Many of them don’t even know they are constipated. Yet their backed up fecal matter continues to decay, while sending toxins into the body. Our eyes do not pick this up, yet this internal self-poisoning and destruction goes on. Anger affects our internal environments, both physically and emotionally, in much the same way. Emotionally speaking, the more we suppress anger the less sensitive to life we become, almost like being anesthetized. Physically speaking, suppressed anger can have systemic effects in many areas of our physiology. In Chinese Medicine it is believed to most directly impact the liver. So if you find a person with detoxification troubles, blood sugar imbalances, trouble digesting fats, high or low cholesterol, poor assimilation of nutrients, or hormonal imbalances you are likely going to be looking into the eyes of a person with a troubled liver as a result of repressed anger.
When we sweep anger under the rug it is important to acknowledge that we are the rugs and what we are hiding rots what it is under! Acknowledging our anger allows us to experience it and for it to flow through and naturally dissipate out of our bodies and minds rather than becoming stagnated and stuck.
Transitioning from Enemy to Friend of Anger – A Self Discovery Exercise
John McMullin, founder of Journeys of Wisdom, advocates that experiencing anger without shaming ourselves for it is one of the greatest freedoms we can know (1). Below we’ll explore five steps that facilitate the movement from a place of conflict with our enemy called anger to a place of expansion and freedom with our friend called anger.
Conclusion
Perhaps making friends with anger is really about accepting the parts of ourselves that feel angry rather than making them an enemy and rejecting them. By acknowledging the purpose of our anger and allowing ourselves to experience it we can stay conscious of anger rather than being unconscious to its existence within. Not only can anger be a very healthy human expression, but we can also turn it into a very powerful catalyst of self- growth and healing with the self-discovery practice mentioned above. With anger as our friend, perhaps you and I can experience the peace and calm of the emotion rather than its storms.
References
1. John McMullin, Holistic Coach. www.Journeysofwisdom.com.
1-800-889-1976. Columbus, OH.
It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we’re wrecking it with every step we take.
http://nymag.com/health/features/46213/
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
September 2, 2009 – One of Nelson’s newest and youngest entrepreneurs is having a grand opening on September 12 and everyone who’s interested in their own health and fitness is invited. Ali Popoff, the 22-year-old owner of Kutenais Finest Personal Training, has launched a new and unique company that incorporates fitness training, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, trigger point release and energy physiology.
Ali is a Nelson native and certified C.H.E.K Exercise Coach who has a passion for wellness. Her clientele range in age from 14 to 63 and each one is given a personalized program designed specifically for their own needs, whether it be injury rehabilitation, athletic training or better body awareness.
“I am able to recognize and identify different postural sets and faulty movement patterns that are created by bad habits,” she says. “I’ve studied various techniques and have taken the most successful parts of all of them and now incorporate them into my training style.”
Aside from exercise regimens, Ali’s business also employs practitioners Shawna Urbanski, a specialist in trigger point release technique, Paul Gaucher, an acupuncturist and doctor of Chinese medicine and Energy Physiologist Colli Christante. Each specializes in a particular area of health ensuring clients receive a complete and systematic fitness regimen.
“My enthusiasm for fitness began while on my own journey towards better health,” Ali says. “As a kid I weighed over 200 pounds and I ate to hide my emotions. As I started to get fit, I realized how challenging my life was growing up overweight. My compassion for people is endless because of my experiences. I have the ability to make people comfortable in any situation and I take pride in that.”
The Grand Opening of Kutenais Finest Personal Training will happen on Saturday September 12th between 12 and 2pm at the Summit Health and Fitness, 685B Baker St, Nelson. Everyone is invited to see the new clinic and meet the practitioners. Fresh fruit and appetizers will be served.
For more information about Kutenais Finest Personal Training, contact Ali Popoff at ali@kutenaisfinesttraining.com or 250-505-8391.
Ali Popoff Kutenais Finest
A Chemical Reaction is a documentary movie scheduled for release in 2009 that tells the story of one of the most powerful and effective community initiatives in the history of North America. The initiative lead to the banning of all pestcides and pest poison application in a small US town.
Organic farming is constantly threatened. This clip helps to uncover some of the complexities surrounding the organic farm. Visit your local Farmers Market and support local growers. www.mountainmarket.ca
