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Breakfast idea that is Paleo diet friendly

The Paleo Diet – Is It Right for You?

July 20, 2018 Tim Comments Off

What is the Paleo Diet? Today we’re going to talk about the Paleo diet – a nutritional strategy (and lifestyle) that claims to leverage our body’s evolutionary eating adaptations for maximum health. The Paleo diet requires eating the foods our ancient ancestors ate and to avoid modern foods (and quantities) that aren’t compatible with our bodies. The core premise of the Paleo diet is that modern foods and diets have strayed too far from what our bodies and digestive systems have adapted to via tens of thousands of years of evolution. Further, its proponents believe modern foods and the associated mismatch with our real dietary needs is the biggest driving factor behind the modern “diseases of civilization”: Type 2 Diabetes [Read more …]

Food items that represent all the macronutrients

Macronutrients and Calories

September 9, 2018 Tim Comments Off

To lose 1 pound of body fat you must have a caloric deficit of 3,600 calories. This can be accomplished by a daily caloric deficit. For example, by consuming 360 calories less than what you need, every day for 10 days you could expect to lose 1 pound. Let’s talk about the three main categories of macronutrients – fat, protein, and carbohydrates. These are the nutrients your body needs in large quantities – for energy and maintenance of cells in the body. The fundamental principle of all weight loss is a deficit in calories. You’ve go to burn more calories than you eat. Your body’s base metabolic needs and physical activity burn the calories you take in. So it’s simple [Read more …]

Corn - source of corn oil - which is very high in omega-6 fatty acids and prevalent in the modern Western diet

Omega-6 Fats – What You Need To Know

May 15, 2018 Tim 1

Omega-6 fatty acids (often called just omega-6 fats) are a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are important for a number of functions in the body. They are a type of essential fatty acid so-called because they are required by the body, but cannot be manufactured or synthesized by the body. Therefore, your diet is an important source of these fats. Omega-6 fats are essential for proper development and functioning of the brain and nervous system. They also stimulate skin and hair growth, provide and maintain good bone health, help regulate the metabolism, and help keep the reproductive system healthy. There are several omega-6 fats, including: linoleic acid (one of several), eicosadienoic acid, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), and arachidonic acid [Read more …]

Sardines - a good source of omega-3 fatty acids

Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fats

May 15, 2018 Tim Comments Off

Omega-3 fatty acids (often called just omega-3s) are a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids that are important for a number of functions in the body. They are a type of essential fatty acid so-called because they are required by the body, but cannot be manufactured by the body. Therefore, your diet is an important source of these. Omega-3s can be found in cold-water fatty fish, such as salmon or sardines, or shellfish such as oysters and scallops. Flaxseed, canola oil, and walnuts also are other good dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Because of the importance of these fats, it’s also become popular to use supplements such as fish oil as a source of Omega-3s. The three principal omega-3 fatty [Read more …]

Tea - Tea is a healthy drink, low in calories and loaded with nutrients

Health Benefits of Drinking Tea

January 27, 2019 Tim Comments Off

Tea is an aromatic beverage made by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Tea originated in Southwest China as a medicinal drink – but it rapidly spread around the globe (the British empire played a big part and this). Tea is now second only to water as the most common beverage consumed globally. What’s herbal tea? Herbal tea is made with infusions of fruits or herbs, and typically does not include the tea plant. We’re not going to discuss herbal tea in this article, instead we’ll focus on the traditional kind. The exclusion of the tea plant leaves in the process for making herbal tea makes it a fundamentally different beverage. How is [Read more …]

A photo showing Concept2 indoor rowers in use at a CrossFit box - indoor rowing is an excellent exercise.

Indoor Rowing – an Excellent Full-Body, Low-Impact Exercise

July 18, 2020 Tim Comments Off

An indoor rower (or indoor rowing machine) is an exercise machine that simulates rowing a watercraft. Indoor rowing is an all-around excellent exercise. First of all, it’s a highly effective full-body exercise, but it’s also a low-impact workout. But it’s not easy – remember the last time you had to row a boat? Shown here is the Concept 2 Model D Indoor Rower, which many consider to be the gold standard for indoor rowers (especially in CrossFit). Want to get the benefits of this low-impact, full-body exercise? Here’s everything you need: Why is rowing such great exercise? Here’s the reasons: Full-body exercise – The indoor rowing machine requires effort from both your upper and lower body. With a lot of [Read more …]

High Blood Pressure, or Hypertension, is a long term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated.

High Blood Pressure – What You Need to Know

June 10, 2018 Tim Comments Off

High Blood Pressure, or Hypertension, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. Blood pressure is described by two different measurements – the systolic and diastolic pressures – which are the maximum and minimum pressures. Systolic is how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls when the heart beats. Diastolic indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls while the heart is resting between beats. The units of measurement are typically millimeters of mercury, abbreviated as mmHg or mm Hg. High Blood Pressure is sometimes called the “silent killer” – because there can initially be no obvious symptoms. But when left untreated, the ongoing damage [Read more …]

Health Benefits of Coffee

January 27, 2019 Tim Comments Off

Coffee – What are the health benefits of coffee? You may have heard – study after study has shown that coffee has numerous health benefits. Why is that? There’s a lot of reasons – because coffee has a lot of good stuff in it, and we’ll go through them all here. For many of us (around 85%, given the latest surveys), this is good news – so grab that fresh cup of coffee and continue reading. You can rest assured we’re drinking coffee as we write this too. Coffee has caffeine that can improve your energy levels This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone – coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine is a chemical compound that acts as a stimulant to the [Read more …]

Sitting – The New Smoking?

February 20, 2019 Tim Comments Off

Dr. James Levine, the director of the Mayo Clinic at Arizona State University says that “Sitting is the new smoking“. Smoking, once a popular activity, was not recognized as the extreme health danger it was, until many years later. And now sitting may be in the same category. At first, this sounds ridiculous. But there’s a bevy of studies backing this statement up – and a possible logical explanation for why sitting for long duration is unhealthy. First, we’ll spoil some of the surprise – it’s not sitting in particular, but extreme sedentary habits that seem to be the risk factor. Secondly, it appears that being sedentary all day, then hitting the gym is not an effective solution. The extended [Read more …]

Proper sleep is required for fitness and health. Sleep deprivation and insomnia are associated with a number of serious health risks.

The Importance of Sleep for Health

September 27, 2018 Tim Comments Off

Everybody needs sleep. But did you know that a lack of proper sleep can increase the risk of diabetes and other risks? Having good sleep habits is also known as sleep hygiene. The Physical Effects of Not Getting Enough Sleep You probably know that if you miss too much sleep you feel tired the next day. That’s obvious, but what is less obvious is the impact on your hormonal systems that can also occur. Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes If you are chronically missing too much sleep, you are raising your risk for Type 2 Diabetes. How does this happen? Through research, it has been shown that not getting enough sleep (for example only 4 hours a night or [Read more …]