When Can I Expect to Lose Weight by Working Out?

Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN

If you're like most people who want to lose weight, then I'm sure you've asked this question before, haven't you?   And it's a fair question that most people are working out to lose weight would like to know the answer to. However, is tough to tell when you can expect to see results from working out. After all, there are a number of factors that will determine the outcome. Let's have a look at each one as well as what you can do see faster results from your workouts.

WHEN CAN YOU EXPECT TO SEE "VISIBLE" WEIGHT LOSS RESULTS?

If you're a beginner to working out, the first 6 weeks of your training program are very important even though you may not see significant results. These first 6 weeks are known as the "neuromuscular adaptation phase" and are characterized by an increased in muscular co-ordination and improved strength without a significant physical transformation.

So, if you want to lose weight and you're not seeing immediate results, just remember that the first 6 weeks lay your foundation. After that, the weight will start to fall off, bearing in mind that you're working out and eating correctly.

With that in mind, it should be remembered that achieving your fitness or weight loss goal isn't about doing something for a few months and then stopping. No! Instead, it's about making exercise and healthy eating a part of your daily lifestyle. When you do so, you will see significant results. And they'll last!

HOW MUCH WEIGHT DO YOU WANT TO LOSE?

Do you want to lose weight? Great! How much? 10 lbs? 20 lbs?   You need to be specific, it needs to be measurable, and you need to fix a date to your goal.

The first thing you need to do is get very clear on your goal. Is it measurable? Do you want to lose weight fast or do you want to lose 15 lbs? The difference is subtle yet pivotal in your ability to achieve your goal.

So get clear. Know where you are and where you want to go.

WHAT DO YOUR WORKOUTS LOOK LIKE?

Whatever your goal, you need to be working out at least every other day. That means that you're working out 3-4 times per week (or more in some cases). The goal is to increase your lean body mass (ie. develop more lean muscle) so that you naturally raise your metabolism. As a result, your body will be burning more calories (and specifically fat calories) all throughout the day. Therefore, you will have a leaner body and more muscle. That's a good thing.

If you are working out once a week, then you're not going to achieve anything! It's that simple. I've worked with too many people who would only workout with me (once a week) and then do nothing on their own. The result - no results!

DIET IS CRITICAL

Diet is a big factor. If you want to lose weight, then you need to eat less calories than you are burning. It's that simple. If you eat 2000 calories per day, then you need to be burning more than that. Obviously, it's tough to tell how many calories you're burning in a given day but, in general, the more intense your workouts, the longer they last, and the more often you workout each week, the more calories you'll be burning.

Eating more raw fruits and vegetables will make a huge difference in helping you lose weight.

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men's soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to http://tinyurl.com/fitteru1 now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and "How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast" report!

Are the rich more healthy?

Here is a special Health and Fitness Bulletin concerning fitness past the age of 40.

Enjoy...

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Special Bonus Report Available
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A reminder -- "Slow Poisoning", the eye-opening report by health journalist John Erb, is now available in the "Fit Over 40" members area.

Anyone who owns a copy of "Fit Over 40" now receives FIVE free bonus e-books/reports:

--- >  "The Menopause Solution" by Jill Langham;
--- >  "Why Grow Old" by Orison Swett Marden;
--- >  "Natural Ways To Increase Your Testosterone" by Men's Health Journalist Christian Finn
--- >  "The Bill Pearl Interview" by Rob Cooper

AND "The Slow Poisoning of Mankind" by John Erb. This incredible report is literally the report given to The World Health Organization on the toxic effects of one of the most common food additives in America.

If you own "Fit Over 40", just visit the homepage and login to the member's downloads.

If you do not own "Fit Over 40", get it here --

http://bit.ly/184UcB

You can also pick up Frank Mangano's e-book, "The Silent Killer Exposed", for a limited time.

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Poverty And Obesity:  A New Study Finds
A Remarkable Connection
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While the rich and the affluent still face many of the problems that come with the "king's lifestyle", a new pattern is emerging in the United States and, predictions state, Europe.

A new study shows that the trend of ill-health and obesity is shifting rapidly to the poor and less educated portions of the country.

The reason this is important to us all, other than a concern for our nation's health as a whole, is the economic strain this will place on our already burdened health care system.

By the year 2012, if this trend increases, the middle and upper classes will be looking at massive increases in taxes to fund proposed government plans to address the problem.

This is a problem that flat-out does NOT need to exist. Everyone who can afford food at 'all' can easily eat healthy and exercise.

Part of the confusion is due to the fact that the billion dollar fitness industry has created a myth -- that expensive food supplements and organic foods are mandatory for good health.

While I believe in both, neither are mandatory.

It's the TYPE of food, and the COMBINATION of the foods that make all the difference -- that, and moderate calories, exercise, and proper mental disposition.

This is covered in detail in the best-selling e-book, "Fit Over 40", by Jon Benson and Tom Venuto, CSCS.

Get it here --
http://bit.ly/184UcB

In regards to the study, Dr. Janet Collins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had this to say --

"Populations are no longer equal in terms of experiencing health problems. Low-income populations tend to experience all the health problems we worry about at greater rates."

The five states with the highest obesity rates in the 2005 consensus include Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Kentucky.

These same five states have higher rates of poverty than the national norm.

Meanwhile, the five states with the lowest obesity have less poverty. They are Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Each of these states also have more college graduates and stronger education programs.

Education in health and fitness does not need to be expensive, and it certainly does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

However, many fitness professionals and nutrition 'gurus' lend that impression.

If you visit a gym today, especially in a larger city, you'll see a myriad of devices that, frankly, would give you a better workout if you tried to pick them up and move them out to the garbage dump.

It can be daunting and confusing for anyone! But, this doesn't have to be the case. In fact, as so many people report in "Fit Over 40", workouts can be done in your own home that will more than satisfy the needs of most people.

The same goes for nutrition. While a few people require "high-tech", expensive foods (for medical reasons usually), the vast majority of us can easily get the job done at the local grocery store.

The best way to inspire change is to create change in yourself. Start there, set the example, and the word will spread.

Anyone can be fit and healthy, and they can do it at ANY age, and at ANY income level above absolute poverty.

Yours in health,

Arthur M.

How To Explode Your Confidence Beyond Belief

If you are not one hundred percent satisfied with the current status of your life as it is right now in terms of anything including relationships, finances, career, parenting, etc. there is only one thing that you need to assess and that's your decision making process.

You see, our lives are shaped by our experiences and all experiences are the result of a decision.

If you decide to touch a burning stove, the result will be that you get burned. If you decide to jump in a pool of water, the result will be that you get wet.

Sometimes however, the result that we experience from a decision isn't so clearly visible prior to making that decision.

In other words, we think that by making a certain decision, we will achieve a certain result but somehow that result turns into something else. And that's when things get tricky.

And this is why if areas of your life aren't moving along as planned, you must assess your decision making process.

Decisions are driven by two things; the confidence in one's ability to achieve a certain result and more importantly, emotions. The reason why I say "more importantly" is because emotions ultimately guide every decision and will always override one's confidence.

For example, if you decide that it's time to lose weight or quit smoking, you can have all the confidence in the world in your ability to achieve those goals but if your emotions point you in the opposite direction, you will ultimately never achieve those goals.

Therefore, to truly enhance any areas of your life, you must work on both your confidence and your emotions.

Steve G. Jones is a clinical hypnotherapist who has been practicing hypnotherapy for over 20 years and has worked with the likes of just about anyone ranging from regular everyday folks to high profile celebrities.

In fact, pretty soon he will have his own television show called "The Celebrity Hypnotist."

Steve also has the largest collection of hypnosis recordings on the planet and is well respected in his field.

Some time ago, Steve realized that while he was helping improve various areas of people's lives using the power of hypnosis on a subconscious level, that working on someone's confidence was a must no matter what.

It's almost like a prerequisite for true transformation. The only problem was that people would have to fly to his Savannah office for the hypnosis session and pay a pretty penny to do so.

Steve decided to create a program that would equip any person with the ability to build confidence using hypnosis right in the privacy of their own homes, which would make it much more convenient and affordable.

And so he did just that. The only problem; it was missing something.

While Steve's program was in fact ultra effective at building confidence, it didn't focus on emotions on any level.

Knowing that the only true way to deal with one's emotions is through Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT for short, Steve knew he had to incorporate the principles of EFT into his program.

But Steve is an expert in hypnosis, not EFT.

So what did he do? He decided to enlist the the help of a man who is arguably the world's foremost EFT expert......Brad Yates.

While it certainly was no easy task (it took nearly a year), Steve finally did track Brad down and got him to join forces with him to create what is perhaps the most powerful formula for building confidence known to man.

Introducing Confidence Beyond Belief by Steve G. Jones, M.Ed. and Brad Yates.

To Your Success,
Arthur M.
http://tinyurl.com/l5lzv5

How Body Type Can Affect Your Body Building Success

By Kyle Peters

Bodybuilding can be a difficult sport at the best of times
but one way to improve your chances of success is to know
your body type. Knowing this will tell you how you are going
to respond to the weight training and exercise program and
allow any modifications necessary to increase your success.
Often it can be just a simple process of looking in a mirror
and studying your features to determine your type.

If you are tall and skinny then this would often mean you
would be classified in the group known as endomorphs. These
are classically hard gainers and if you fall into this group
and have already started a training program you will know
that no matter what you do, it is difficult to put on any
weight or muscle.

The major advantage of being in this group is that although
you may find it difficult to put on muscle it will also be
difficult to put on fat. What this means to you is that when
you do put on muscle mass it will be without a gain in fat
tissue which will leave you looking very ripped. In fact you
would not have to put on as much muscle to look bigger and
toned as you will have superb definition.

The next group are typically shorter, squat, heavier and are
naturally more muscular. These are commonly known as the
mesomorphs. Often they will claim to be able to put on
muscle just by looking at a set of weights!

For those with a mesomorphic physique then usually a less
intense workout program is required. The biggest hurdle to
face though is the issue of fat gain. As well as muscle,
these types can also easily put on fat. It is vital to
increase the proportion of protein intake in the daily
calories to try and overcome this.

The ideal amount of daily intake of protein for endomorphs
is around 2g per kilogram of body weight. It is also
important to increase general calorie intake to stimulate an
anabolic state.

Excellent gains can be achieved by both body types but those
with ectomorphic bodies will have to work harder in the gym
to stimulate muscle growth and will also have to increase
calorie intake. With mesomorphs it is important to be
careful about increasing fat levels and often, many will
find they end up cycling between bulking up and losing fat.

Kyle writes reviews on (http://www.rippedabsreview.com) how
to get ripped fast and does fitness articles such as the
(http://www.rippedabsreview.com/vince-delmonte-review.html)
Vince Delmonte review.

Vitamin C Facts

UPDATE: July 28 - Here is some additional information that may be useful to you regarding the flu propaganda. Additional vitamin C is helpful for your animal companions as well.

I recently cured myself and my wife using that "miracle drug" vitamin C, and I posted an article "What Doctors Don't Know". This article is scheduled to appear in the Holistic Health Magazine in September. It is reprinted below. I would appreciate it if everyone on this list copies at least the part about Preventing Autism, and passes it on to every pregnant woman. This will greatly lower the autism birth rate considerably.

What Your Doctor Doesn't Know

Here are 3 simple secrets that are unknown (or ignored) by the medical profession and bitterly disputed by Big Pharma that routinely publishes phony research and myths against them.

1. Plain cheap vitamin C takes all minerals out of the blood by combining with them metabolically. It's cheaper and safer than any other method.

2. The same vitamin C kills viruses - also by combining with them metabolically.

3. The ONLY bad side effect possible using vitamin C is diarrhea.

Few MD's know this because they get little or no vitamin information in med school, and med journals depend on drug advertising for their existence. Any journal that told the truth would go out of business.

As the only PhD in the Orthomolecular Medical Society, I could not use EDTA or other chelation drugs to get toxic minerals out of a patient. In 1981, I had my first case of schizophrenia from a high copper/zinc cause. I asked Carl Pfeiffer what to do in such a case. He told me that he thought vitamin C could be used, and referred me to Linus Pauling. Linus spent a half hour of his time mentoring me in the use of vitamin C for this.

After using vitamin C for many years to "cure" mineral toxicity in many cases of schizophrenia (copper/zinc ratio) and depression (mercury toxicity), I KNOW that vitamin C works!

I have personally been taking 4000 mg (4 grams) per day for years. And all my mineral analysis results for years have shown either very low levels of all toxic minerals, or actually immeasurable amounts. I know that this safe and cheap method works personally. (A copy of my recent hair analysis is available showing this "proof".)

I recently cured the what I believe was the swine flu in myself and my wife in 24 hours using only vitamin C. For the flu, it took 48 grams per day (6 each 1000mg pills every 3 hours) for both my wife and I to beat it.

The RDA of only 75 mg per day allows people to think that this is healthy, not realizing that this small amount is the MINIMUM just to prevent scurvy.

Talk to a vet in the zoo who takes care of primates (primates are apes, monkeys and us), and you'll find out that the RDA to keep a 150 pound ape healthy is 4 grams per day for good health. This is the same for you and I - I take 2 grams AM and PM.

The first two FACTS listed above about vitamin C lead to two different therapies related to Autism, and a very important one for virus curing.

1. That first fact makes for a simple, safe therapy to Prevent Autism by taking toxic minerals (mostly mercury) out of the pregnant woman prior to birth. This leads to the tiny infant liver being able to handle mercury in toxic amounts, not only from vaccines, but from environmental sources such as mothers milk, and mercury from every coal burning power plant around. Basically, this simple system has the expectant mother taking at least 2 grams of vitamin C at breakfast and dinner, leaving other vitamins and minerals for lunch. Increase to 3 grams each time if mother has 6 months or less remaining. Remember that vitamin C takes out good minerals along with the toxic ones, so it's necessary to put back the good ones. (Details on http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=J_3bO&m=1g_rUFeBS3dBIj&b=SFGxcNZzz5Fx5PtjknFMiw)

2. This same fact helps persons with autism remove mercury, lead, and aluminum from the blood, safely, effectively, and cheap! These all can do damage to the brain. Doing this is essential to any autism "cure". (A complete article on this therapy was featured in the August issue of this magazine, and may be found at http://drbate.com.)

3. The other fact dictates the use of vitamin C in huge amounts immediately when any sign of a cold or flu shows up. Start taking at least 6 grams of vitamin C pills every three hours until diarrhea starts. At that point. drop to 6 every 4-5 hours. The idea is to keep high in vitamin C, but not high enough to cause diarrhea. Diarrhea shows that the bloodstream is finally "saturated", and "overflowing". Until that point, virus cells are increasing by doubling every 20 minutes or so.

See now why phony research about vitamin C and virus using 500 mg to 1 gram is useless? If it even kills off half of the virus cells, in 20 minutes after it's used up, the virus is back to full strength. As one researcher put it, "the only mistake is not using enough vitamin C."

For more information, go to http://drbate.com. On the "navigation" section, there are many articles on vitamin C, and using it for the above therapies.

Please help me get this Prevent Autism simple safe and cheap information out to pregnant women everywhere. We can stop this epidemic or at least slow it down easily without a lot of cost (a bottle of 500 one gram pills costs less than $20 at Costco or even WalMart.)

This is a case of not using Big Pharma's pet phrase "ask your doctor". They simply don't know.
--
Phil Bate PhD is a retired Orthomolecular Psychologist
And a pioneer in many new Alternate Health therapies.

UPDATE: July 24 - To foil the musings of mainstream medicine and mainstream media who wrongfully attack the use of supplements, especially vitamins C and E, here is a recent report on how these vitamins reduce mortality.

One main focus at Natural Health News is to get you to think for yourself and to move away from accepting everything you are told by the media and medicine without inquiring further.

Your life and your health may depend on it.

Vitamin C and E supplementation associated with reduced five year mortality

An article published online on July 13, 2009 in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported the results of a study conducted by researchers at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center which found that vitamin C and vitamin E supplement users had a lower risk of dying over a five year period than those who did not supplement.

For their analysis, Gaia Pocobelli and colleagues evaluated data from 77,673 participants in the Vitamins and Lifestyle Study of men and women aged 50 to 76. Questionnaires completed between 2000 and 2002 provided information on the participants' supplement use over the previous ten years. Deaths that occurred over the following five years were classified as being due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other causes.

Over the follow-up period, 3,577 deaths occurred. Participants who reported using vitamin C and vitamin E supplements were found to have a lower risk of dying from any cause than those who did not use the supplements. Subjects whose vitamin C supplementation was in the top one-third of participants at an average daily dose of 322.1 milligrams per day or higher over the 10 year period had an 11 percent lower risk of dying than nonusers. Those whose vitamin E supplementation was among the highest third of participants at an average of 215.1 milligrams per day or more also experienced an 11 percent lower risk of dying over follow-up than those who did not supplement. When the analysis was restricted to those who never smoked, participants in the top third of vitamin C supplementation were found to have a 24 percent lower risk of dying than nonusers, and for those in the top third of vitamin E, the risk was 20 percent lower. A similarly decreased risk was shown for those whose body mass index was 30 or greater and those whose intake of fruit and vegetables was below the median. "Our findings of stronger associations between total mortality risk and use of vitamins C and E among persons with greater body mass index and lesser fruit and vegetable consumption are consistent with the hypothesis that any impact of vitamins C and E on total mortality risk may be stronger among persons with greater levels of oxidative stress," the authors write. "On the other hand, the associations between use of vitamins C and E and total mortality risk were stronger among never smokers than among current/recent smokers, yet smoking is thought to increase oxidative stress."

When mortality was examined by cause, multivitamin use of 6 to 7 days per week was associated with a 16 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease death and vitamin E use averaging over 215 milligrams per day was associated with a 28 percent lower risk. In their introduction to the article, the authors note that oxidative damage, which can be prevented, in part, by antioxidant vitamins, has adverse effects on DNA, proteins, and lipids that is associated with diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis. However, they recommend caution in interpreting the current study's findings, since supplement users tend to adopt other healthy lifestyle practices that reduce the development of major diseases and related mortality.

Originally posted June 2009:
1. The most "wrong" lie is that vitamin C is used for abortions, and causes them. Many years ago Dr Klenner fed over 300 pregnant women vitamin C in amounts from 5 to 10 grams per day (5000-10,000 mg) all during their pregnancy with not only no abortions or miscarriages, but in general much better health than average contemporaries.

2. The next lie stems from Big Pharma "research" that comes up every so often that vitamin C is not effective against either virus or bacteria. As Linus Pauling put it, "Law: the number one side effect of vitamins is failure to take enough of them."

These "studies" are usually done by people that think that because the FDA for C is only 75 mg, that 500 mg is a "megadose". Remember that 75 mg is the amount that will JUST prevent scurvy. It is not even close to good health. Learn and Remember four facts:

a. Bacteria and virus both multiply in a binary replication, i.e., they double every 20 minutes or so.

b. You MUST saturate the bloodstream, and keep it saturated for several hours to kill ALL of the infecting agents.

c. The only effect from overdosing on vitamin C is diarrea.

d. The RDA for a 150 pound primate in a zoo is 4000 mg per day. (Ask a vet, NOT an MD about vitamin C.)

500 mg of vitamin C daily will not kill even half of the infecting agents, even if taken at one time. It takes a minimum of 2000 mg (2 grams) to do this, and that lasts only 2-4 hours. It is used up by combining with the infecting agent very quickly. How long vitamin C lasts in the bloodstream depends on how much, and what jobs it has to do.

So, even assuming that 500 mg kills of half of the infection, just 20 minutes later the infection is right back to where it started. This means that in the best conditions, in one hour after the vitamin C was taken, the virus or bacteria is twice as strong as when it started.

These studies underwritten by Big Pharma is only a small part of it's efforts to protect their income. Another example: If women knew that vitamin B6 and magnesium stopped PMS, how much money would they lose on Midll, and various other drugs? It's money folks!

3. The last is something few MD's are even aware of (again due to Big Pharmas "brainwashing".) Vitamin C and glutathione are the two natural chelation chemicals that get toxic minerals and other toxins out of the body. Why don't MD's know this simple fact? They're "educationally handicapped" first by the medical training which doesn't devote any real time to vitamins and minerals, second by the fact that no medical journals (where they get their updated medical info) simply cannot publish vitamin information, or Big Pharma will cut their advertising - the lifeblood of all med journals.

Because I was unable to prescribe the "usual" drugs (EDTA or Penicillamine) in my practice, I was forced to look for an alternate. Carl Pfeiffer , the foremost expert (then and still IMO), told me to try vitamin C. I used in my practice for successful treatment of over 10 high copper schizophrenia patients. An interesting sidelight - all such patients lost all of the schizophrenic symptoms within days of taking vitamin C.

The following is found in Dr Klenner's "Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C",

Heavy Metal Poisonings: Especially lead and mercury--are controlled with Vitamin C injections and oral intake. An intake of Vitamin C daily will protect animals--and by extrapolation, humans--from fatal doses of mercury. If a guinea pig needed 200 mg one day to protect it from an otherwise fatal dose of mercury, the human would need 14 grams daily. Smaller doses would be able to protect the body from smaller amounts of the toxin.

Lead poisoning: 350 mg of Vitamin C per one kg of body weight taken intramuscularly every two to four hours; recovery in less than 72 hours.
The "greats" in the Orthomolecular Medical Society, Linus Pauling, Carl Pfeiffer, Emanuel Cheraskin, William J. McCormick, Irwin Stone, Robert F. Cathcart, and Andrew Saul all agree with me on the use of vitamin C as opposed to drugs.

For all those who would like to learn more about vitamin C as an old "miracle drug" here are some unbiased info by a few of these "greats",

Dr. Frederick R. Klenner's Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C is posted in its entirety at http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/198x/smith-lh-clinical_guide_1988.htm

The complete text of Irwin Stone's book The Healing Factor is posted for free reading at http://vitamincfoundation.org/stone/

A very large number of full-text papers on curing illness with vitamin C are posted at http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate . These include Frederick R. Klenner.
http://www.doctoryourself.com/vitaminc2.html by Andrew Saul

from Phil Bate PhD, orthomolecular pioneer

PUFAS Lead to Increased Inflammation

"A high intake of polyunsaturated fat in the diet, ... may lead to inflammatory ... disease, ..."

Dating back to 2007 there have been a dozen posts here on problems with the plant sterol products glutting the market. The most common of these products is the margarine with the claim of reducing heart disease.

Some other data exists showing that these products lead to asthma. Asthma, heart disease and inflammatory bowel disease are all symptoms of reactive inflammation.

I don't count plant sterols or the products made from them as healthy, nor do I consider that the PUFAS (polyunsaturated fatty acids) to be health promoting, except when an actual imbalance exists.

Additionally, the fact that many of these oils are from genetically engineered sources raise even more health concerns.

As the story goes, when making margarine just cooking the oils a little longer gives you the tub...

Learn more from the Campaign for Healthier Eating

And read Smith's comments on Obama's new food czar here.

I'll stick with my long used, made at home organic unsalted butter and olive oil blend recipe!

Healthy fat link to bowel disease
A high intake of polyunsaturated fat in the diet, while good for the heart, may lead to inflammatory bowel disease, say researchers.

Experts believe a high intake of linoleic acid, found in foods like "healthy" margarines, may be implicated in a third of ulcerative colitis cases.

The researchers base their findings, due to be published in Gut, on food diaries from more than 200,000 people.

If the link proves to be causal, some people might want to modify their diet.

“ There is good biological plausibility of why linoleic acid can cause inflamation, and certainly Western diets are often excessive in this kind of fat ”
Dr Anton Emmanual Core

The researchers also found that a diet rich in another type of fat, omega 3 fatty acid found in oily fish such as salmon and herring, reduced the likelihood of developing ulcerative colitis by 77%.

Linoleic acid is a naturally occurring essential fatty acid, present in a variety of foods, including the oils of seeds and nuts, such as sunflower, safflower, soya, corn seeds or walnut oils.

The multinational team working on the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study say there is a plausible biological mechanism that could explain why linoleic acid is linked with this bowel condition.

Cell membranes

Once in the body, linoleic acid is converted to arachidonic acid, which is a component of the cell membranes in the bowel.

Arachidonic acid can then be converted into various inflammatory chemicals, high levels of which have been found in the bowel tissue of patients with ulcerative colitis.

In all, 126 of the people in the study developed ulcerative colitis after an average period of four years.

After adjusting for other factors likely to influence the results, including smoking, age, total energy intake, and use of aspirin, those whose diets included the most linoleic acid were more than twice as likely to develop the condition as those whose diets contained the least.

Lead researcher Dr Andrew Hart of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, said: "There are no dietary modifications of benefit in patients with ulcerative colitis, although, based on this study's findings, a diet low in linoleic acid may merit investigation."

In the UK, people consume on average about 10g per day of linoleic acid, found in around nine level teaspoons of polyunsaturated margarine or three teaspoons of sunflower oil.

In the study, the people who consumed the most linoleic acid had a daily intake three times this or more.

Biologically plausible

Dr Anton Emmanual, medical director of the digestive disorders charity Core, stressed that the study did not prove that linoleic acid caused bowel disorders, and warned that dietary diaries could be unreliable.

However, he said: "Nevertheless there is good biological plausibility of why linoleic acid can cause inflamation, and certainly Western diets are often excessive in this kind of fat.

"The omega 3 fish oils counteract the harmful effects of lineloic acid it would be helpful to see whether diets high in fish oils reduce colitis.

"Lineloic acid may have small part to play in some patients, but factors such as smoking, bacteria and stress are likely to be at least as important."

Professor Jon Rhodes, of the British Society of Gastroenterology, said the study was interesting, but also stressed it did not prove cause and effect - further tightly controlled studies would be needed to do that.

Dr Elisabeth Weichselbaum, of the British Nutrition Foundation, said the study was interesting.

But added: "The results need to be interpreted with caution.

"People who have very high intakes of omega-6 fats are likely to have a generally different diet from those with low intakes. Therefore, it may as well be possible that there are other factors that could have an effect."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8161616.stm
Published: 2009/07/24 00:00:44 GMT © BBC MMIX

Trigger Point Therapy

By Steven Hefferon, PTA, CMT

Research by Drs. Janet Travell and David Simons, authors of "The Trigger Point Manual," has shown that trigger points are the primary cause of pain at least 75 percent of the time and are a factor in nearly every painful condition.

Trigger points, a type of muscle stiffness, are the result of tiny contraction knots that develop in muscle and tissue when an area of the body is injured or overworked. Trigger points are something traditional doctors ignore, but they could be the one thing that has been overlooked in your case for years, if not decades.

A hallmark of trigger points is something called "referred" pain. This means that trigger points typically send their pain to some other place in the body, which is why conventional treatments for pain so often fail. Many health care practitioners wrongly assume that the problem is located where the pain is and therefore fail to assess the body correctly to find the cause of your pain.

I'm going to give you some valuable information about trigger points that I hope will encourage you to consider the possibility that trigger points may be the missing link in your quest for relief.

What triggers a trigger point?

Trigger points can occur as a result of muscle trauma (from car accidents, falls, sports- and work-related injuries, etc.), muscle strain from repetitive movements at work or play, postural strain from standing or sitting improperly for long periods at the computer, emotional stress, anxiety, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, and toxins in the environment. A single event can initiate a trigger point, and you can suffer the effects for the rest of your life if that trigger point is not addressed properly.

Why trigger points cause trouble

Your body's instinctive reaction to a harmful "event" is to protect itself. It does that by altering the way you move, sit, or stand, which puts abnormal stress on your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. This produces strength and flexibility imbalances in your muscles, as well as postural dysfunctions throughout your body.

If that were not bad enough, your blood flow can become restricted and when that happens both your peripheral and central nervous systems will start to send out those "referred" pain signals, making assessment and treatment even trickier. That's why some experts believe that trigger points are the beginning stage of fibromyalgia. Can things get even worse? Keep reading.

Here's why you may be suffering

To better illustrate the process, here's an example of how one trigger point in one muscle can cause back pain, sciatica, or a herniated disc. The most common place for a trigger point is in the muscle of the lower back called the quadratus lumborum (QL), which is located just above your hips. Regardless of what kind of event sparks the trigger point, your QL will gradually become dysfunctional - that is, the QL will tighten and shorten. And as you limit its use, it will weaken.

As the QL becomes increasingly dysfunctional, it will alter the position of the pelvis. As the pelvis becomes dysfunctional, it will force the spine into an abnormal curvature that will put abnormal pressure on the disc. Over time, the disc will begin to bulge. This situation will get progressively worse, affecting your overall quality of life. Depression often follows. All of this from a single event that occurred in one moment in time.

How do you know if you have trigger points?

Everyone has trigger points; the question is degree. If you have lingering pain, tightness, or restriction of certain movements, it is a good bet that you are experiencing the effects of a trigger point. Trigger points may produce symptoms as diverse as dizziness, earaches, sinusitis, nausea, heartburn, false heart pain, heart arrhythmia, genital pain, and numbness in the hands and feet.

Trigger points can bring on headaches, neck and jaw pain, low back pain, sciatica, tennis elbow, and carpal tunnel syndrome - you name it. They are the source of joint pain in the shoulder, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle that is often mistaken for arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, or ligament injury. If you think this is overkill, I suggest you read the book "Why We Hurt: A Complete Physical & Spiritual Guide to Healing Your Chronic Pain," by Dr. Greg Fors, in which he explains precisely why so many different conditions are rooted in trigger points.

Here are a few more symptoms you should know about: If you have restless leg syndrome, you have TPs; if your teeth hurt, you have TPs; if your workouts have plateaued, you have TPs; if you have painful menses or irritable bowel syndrome, you have TPs.

How does Trigger Point Therapy work?

Simply rubbing the surface of the skin with a massage lotion, a vibrating massager - or using heat - will not change the tissue of a single trigger point. What it needs is sufficient deep sustained pressure to the "knotted-up area." As you work the Trigger Point, your body will undergo soft tissue release, allowing for increased blood flow, a reduction in muscle spasm, and the break-up of scar tissue. It will also help remove any build-up of toxic metabolic waste.

Your body will also undergo a neurological release, reducing the pain signals to the brain and resetting your neuromuscular system to restore its proper function. In other words, everything will again work the way it should.

How long does it take to get relief?

The length of time it takes to release a trigger point depends on several factors, one of which is how long you have had your trigger point. Other factors include the number of trigger points you have, how effective your current treatment is, and how consistently you can administer or receive treatment.

Even if you are lucky enough to find a clinician who can properly assess your condition - let alone treat trigger points - it can be time-consuming and costly to pay someone to completely release all the primary, latent, and myofascial trigger points you may have in your body. You can try going to a massage therapist, but trigger points are very fickle; they need to be addressed daily using a technique that will apply the pinpoint pressure that is needed. Most likely it will be impractical to see a massage therapist frequently enough to get a trigger point to release.

An approach that makes sense

The basic idea is simple. First of all, a trigger point is only about the size of a mustard seed, which is one of the tiniest of all seeds. The idea is to put sustained pressure on the area for a set period of time on a regular basis. There are a number of techniques out there that you can employ to do this. The bottom line is that you need to take the initiative.

"There is no substitute for learning to control your own musculoskeletal pain," says Dr. Simons. "Treating myofascial trigger points yourself addresses the source of that kind of common pain and is not just a way of temporarily relieving it." In other words, you can fix your own trigger points better than anyone else - once and for all. Dr. Simons has it exactly right: You must educate yourself about your condition and then apply what you've learned. This runs counter to today's conventional wisdom, which says that whenever we have a health issue, we should find someone to take care of the problem for us.

What I'm saying here is that you need to take responsibility for managing your own care. From time to time, of course, you may find you need help from medical professionals. But even so, the more you know, the better care you're going to receive. This is naturally going to require some time and effort on your part, but the payoff will be faster with far better results.

You can get lasting pain relief once you learn how to self treat trigger points. For more FREE articles and videos be sure to visit http://bit.ly/bsmew