HBHL- 10 Oct 2011

This week we are discussing treadmill workouts, preservatives, and supplements!

Fitness/Wellness Lesson:

For slim and toned legs, follow this treadmill (or just outdoor run with a timer) workout.  This workout should be done for a minimum of 30 minutes, preferably 45 minutes.  It's not a TABATA workout because here you are doing more rest than high intensity work.  It's an endurance workout and can be used for slimming and toning your legs.  It's a much better workout than just spending 45 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical at a low intensity.

New Treadmill Interval Workout (30 minute minimum):

Perform a 5 minute warm up.  Start by walking and then gradually increase your intensity.  Spend 20 seconds sprinting, 40 seconds at a lower intensity run.  Choose the setting that is right for you, but make sure that you are challenging yourself!  The goal is to workout hard for those 20 seconds- you should be close to out of breath.  Continue alternating b/w the 20 seconds of intense running and 40 seconds and low intensity running.  Perform a 5 minute cool down at the end.

Nutrition Lesson:

Continuing with our discussion on label reading, this week we will discuss preservatives, as well as different types of vitamins and supplements for your diet.  These two are tightly linked because almost all supplements and vitamins contain some type of preservative and it's important to know which unhealthy chemical ingredients to look for when choosing your supplements.

Preservatives:  

Make sure you read labels!  Not just for your food, but your vitamins and supplements too.  There are tons of chemical additives that can be dangerous so read the labels and understand what you are ingesting.  Just because the product is a "vitamin" does not automatically mean it's good for you.

Here is an article discussing the dangers of Sodium benzoate:

Dangers of sodium benzoate 

This article details titanium dioxide, which is a common ingredient in mainstream vitamins:

Dangers of titanium dioxide

Remember to always read your food/vitamin labels.  With food, just because something says it's fat free, doesn't necessarily mean that it's better for you.  When a company subtracts the FAT from an item, it has to replace the fat (which gives the product flavor and texture) with something else and the majority of the time it's replaced by chemical ingredients.  For example- cream cheese.  Regular cream cheese lists only 8 ingredients while the fat free version has 15- almost twice as many!  In many instances the low-fat version is a better choice b/c it is lower in fat AND is usually free of excess chemicals.  Just make sure you READ the labels and understand what you are choosing for your family.

Supplements: 

If you eat a diet that contains 50% raw foods, you should get the majority of your nutrients in your normal diet.  However, I do recommend a daily vitamin and then supplements for your morning shake.  AND if you are exercising (like all HBHL members are!) you need to make sure you have the proper nutrients because nutrition and exercise go hand in hand.  Check out the following article:

Nutrition + Exercise

One thing to remember is that nutritional supplements and vitamins are not a magic solution for your health.  Some people think they can smoke, drink heavily, eat unhealthy, not exercise, and then just supplement their diet to make up for their own bad habits.  That is not true!  A vitamin definitely does not excuse you from eating unhealthy and not exercising.  Eating healthy, fresh produce, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds is most important.  With the proper nutritional supplements and a healthy diet, you can maximize your health benefits and actually prevent disease. 

Daily Vitamins:  You can take a daily vitamin in pill or powder form- depending on your preference.  Wellness Resources has all natural vitamins and supplements and Drink Your Vitamins has powder versions that are great.  I also recommend the Vitamin Code brand of vitamins that you can find at your local health store.

Healthy oils (this gives you a daily dose of your Omega 3s): from Avocados, extra virgin coconut oil, nuts, flax seed (which can be added to smoothies or your meals as well!)

Super foods: chlorella, spirulina, sea vegetables, broccoli sprouts, wheat grass, and other types of greens powders.  I use Amazing Grass, Greens Plus Organics, Omega Greens versions or Berry Green by New Chapter & Emerald Balance.  Just read the labels and make sure there are not any chemical additives.

Acai Berry:  I like the Sambazon brand.  This powder can also be added to smoothies.  Other berries are great too- blueberries, raspberries, blackberries.  Massive quantities of berries are great for adding anti-oxidants into your diet.

Probiotic:  I definitely recommend taking a daily probiotic.  Most super green powders will include probiotics (and some vitamins do too), but if yours doesn't, make sure you add probiotics either as a powder (into your smoothie) or as a pill (but make sure there aren't any chemical preservatives).  Most probiotics need to be kept refrigerated.  If yours doesn't, it may have chemicals in it!

Sea Salt: Very important! I like the Himalayan Crystal Salt from Transition Nutrition

If you don't do morning smoothies, I recommend taking Blue Bonnet "Super Earth Multi-nutrient Formula"  or the Vitamin Code brand of vitamins.  They are whole food based multi-vitamins and multi-minerals.  They contain most of the super foods that would be included in the super food supplement you add to your daily shakes.  It's especially nice to have these on hand when you are traveling and missing out on your daily shakes!

As always, let me know if you have any questions! And by all means, use the brands you are familiar with- these are just my suggestions.  Do your own research and figure out what is best for your family and your particular health condition.  But PLEASE read the label and make sure you know what you are ingesting :)

WEEKLY CHALLENGE:  Try to eat AT LEAST one vegetarian meal each week if you are transitioning to a healthier diet- maybe MEATLESS MONDAYS?  Otherwise, the goal is to eat 3+ meals per week where a majority of the meal is plant based.  

Have a wonderful day! 

Namaste,

Jannell