Is Building Muscle Bad For Your HEALTH?

"That can't be healthy!"

"But that's bad for your health!"

These are probably the 2 BIGGEST scare tactics anyone
can use to derail you in the chase for the body you want.

And in fact, they can be used by ANYONE, no matter their
current physical status, and no matter if the person is
400 lbs or not, you'll still think twice about what you're
doing.

So, we think it's way past time to give you a way
to get an accurate snapshot of your overall HEALTH
(from a medical standpoint).

Don't you agree?


Revisiting this "Rule Of 3" from the other day, We've wrapped our
heads around the best way to keep a finger on the pulse of your overall,
total health, pun totally intended.

In Rule Of 3, we talked about the 3 basic controls of "health":

1. Work output
2. Substance Input
3. System Stress

From that, and doing some quick fact checking, it looks like you
can get a good idea of your overall "health" from these 3 metrics:

* Blood Pressure
* Height-to-waist ratio
* Shoulder-to-waist ratio

... in which there's a sweet spot for all of these.

For example, aiming for a maximum shoulder to waist, would
mean drug use, which leads to high blood pressure. Going for a super
low height-to-waist ratio would mean no lifting work and likely low
blood pressure due to a prolonged lack of food and blood thinning.

We were thinking of using "pulse rate" instead of blood pressure,
but blood pressure gives you insight into so much more, including
cardiac output AND gives you an idea of the EXTERNAL stressors in
your life (work, family, etc)

Some physical factors of blood pressure are:

* Heart rate
* Volume of fluid or blood volume
* Resistance. (plaque in vessels, diameter of vessels)

Shoulder-to-waist gives you insights into bone health, muscle
tone, coordination, joint health, and probably more. (our best guess
would be the sweet spot here is 1.5-1.7... mainly because you need
a narrower waist to achieve the 1.5)

Height-to-waist gives you insights into "metabolic syndrome"
such as the self-administered portion of high blood pressure,
diabetes, risks of heart disease, high cholesterol, etc

Current research supports a waist-to-height ratio of under 0.5
or a height-to-waist of over 2 for reduced risk of "metabolic
syndrome".

Blood pressure readings are pretty standard and known for "health":

Systolic (Top Number) ==> 90 - 120
Diastolic(Bottom Number) ==>60 - 80

Obviously, you still get your checkups for blood work to
determine other things that could be wrong, but for metrics you can
CONTROL... We can't think of a better 3.

Now, obviously, we're still looking to get the IDEAL body
size and shape, with appropriate leanness and muscularity...

... so don't forget that.

Here's to your Health & Wellness!

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"Are These Fatty Acids Making You Sick?"

Many of us know about about the benefit of Omega 3 fatty acids and EPA and DHA. Thousands of scientific studies have shown us the multiple ways Omega 3 fatty acids benefit us not only in our cardiovascular health, but improving our metabolism, boosting our immune system and reducing the risk of certain diseases.

What research also shows us is that we don’t get nearly enough Omega 3 fatty acids in our diets. Food manufacturers tend to remove this from food because Omega 3 fats are susceptible to spoiling and they want to keep their foods fresh for as long as possible.

Many estimates say we consume more than 30 times more Omega 6 fats than Omega 3 fats.

Consuming large quantities of Omega 6 fats scientists believe may trigger inflammation, sensitivity to pain and thickening of the blood.

Click here to continue reading

How Much Calcium Is Too Much?

Getting to the heart of claims about calcium supplements

By Harvard Health

We seem to get more mail about calcium than any other nutrient. The questions and comments vary, but many reflect the same exasperation. On the one hand, we've been told to take calcium pills to keep bones strong, prevent osteoporosis and reduce the risk of fracture.

On the other, information seems to keep popping up that calls into question the value of calcium — and even suggests that large amounts might be counterproductive. Throw in the occasional query about calcium absorption and which calcium pills to take, and the mailbag — or, more literally, the e-mail inbox — gets full.

Here are some of the questions we get most often:

Q:How much calcium should I be getting?

A: The official recommendation is 1,000 milligrams (mg) a day for adults ages 19 to 50 and 1,200 mg for those past the half- century mark. Those amounts include calcium from all sources: dairy products, other food and drinks, and calcium supplements. But there's a dissenting point of view that 600 mg to 1,000 mg a day is sufficient, perhaps even more healthful. Dr. Walter C. Willett, chair of the Harvard School of Public Health and a member of the Health Letter's editorial board, is a leading voice among the dissidents.

Q: How much calcium am I getting if I don't take a supplement?

A: A reasonably good diet that includes some fruit and vegetables provides about 200 mg to 300 mg daily — and that's without any dairy products. A cup of milk adds another 300 mg, and the typical serving of many dairy products provides 150 mg or more (cheese lovers should go for the hard stuff — it has more calcium). So a well-rounded diet with some servings of milk and dairy products puts you well into the neighborhood of 600 mg to 800 mg a day.

Q: And what about the supplements — which type should I take?

A: This presupposes you should be taking a calcium supplement, but we'll deal with that question below.

Most calcium supplements are made with either calcium carbonate or calcium citrate. Calcium carbonate needs stomach acid to be absorbed, so if it is the source of calcium in your supplement (you may need to read the fine print) it's best to take it just after a meal. Calcium citrate isn't as dependent on stomach acid, so it can be taken any time. People taking medications that reduce stomach acid — such as the proton-pump inhibitors (Prevacid, Prilosec) or the H2 blockers (Tagamet, Zantac) — should take a calcium citrate supplement because lower amounts of stomach acid mean they won't absorb calcium carbonate properly.

The big advantage of calcium carbonate over calcium citrate is that it contains twice as much calcium. The labels on the bottles sometimes make it seem like both kinds of tablets provide the same amount of calcium, usually 500 mg to 600 mg. But that's the amount of calcium per "serving" and if you read the label you'll see that the serving size for the calcium citrate supplements is usually two tablets, but for the calcium carbonate supplements, it's just one.

It's a waste to double the serving size. The body can absorb a 500- or 600-mg dose, but more than that and absorption becomes inefficient. You'll get about the same amount of calcium by taking 1,000 mg as you would if you stuck with the 500 mg or 600 mg.

Harvard Health Letter: mailto:healthletter@hms.harvard.edu.

How To Color Code Your Menu

There you are at the food market, trying to put together a healthy diet for a week, which requires some forethought about what you'll be in the mood for a few days from now. It also has you thinking about how much of something you might need to get the daily nutrition requirements.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that difficult. The HEALTHY foods you eat every day - fruits and veggies, meats and meat substitutes, dairy products and good grains - all contain vital nutrients that contribute to a healthy diet. And, some - particularly, those deeply colored fruits and veggies - are considered "superstars" in this area. In fact, your best bet is to think color!

The natural color of food is a reliable indicator of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it supplies. Here's a quick snippit based on color:

Green - Those dark green veggies you eat like broccoli, spinach and sugar snap peas are high in vitamin C.

Red, yellow, orange - Fruits and vegetables of these colors, such as carrots, sweet peppers and sweet potatoes, are high in beta carotene or Vitamin A, and they can also be rich in vitamin C.

White - White fruits and veggies, like mushrooms, potatoes and bananas, supply B vitamins and many minerals. White dairy products - milk, yogurt and cheese - provide ample amounts of calcium (and are usually fortified with vitamin D).

Purple - Purple or purplish-blue foods, like grapes and blueberries, are best known for their anti-cancer and heart-helping antioxidants. And, like most other fruits and veggies, they're also high in vitamin C and fiber.

Brown - Brown foods in the form of nuts, seeds and grains supply E and B vitamins, which include folic acid. Brown and white foods like meat, fish, poultry, tofu and legumes are stand out sources of proteins and minerals like iron and zinc.

So, the more colors you toss into your basket, the better chance you have of meeting all of your nutritional needs. And remember that you don't have to meet the daily requirement for every single nutrient every single day.

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Montclair/Lowry - Baseball Game Results

Team A - 10

Team B - 10

Looks like we're in for a rematch!

Nice effort everyone.