Stress out? Do some push ups

I remember as a kid that my wrestling coach always insisted that we practice during final exam periods while most of the other teams were given time off to 'study'. Most of my fellow teammates were stress about missing the time to study but Hutch (my coach) was adamant that it would help us blow off steam and study better (side note: it is hard to blow off steam when you are working out in a room that is steaming!!)

A study from PLoS ONE shows that Hutch was right and exercise does help deal with stress.

...the women who engaged in brief vigorous physical activity -- at least 40 minutes over the three-day study period -- and were stressed had longer telomeres than their inactive, stressed-out counterparts. The authors conclude that 13 minutes or more of vigorous exercise daily appears to be the critical amount correlated with longer telomeres.

“Physical activity is so good for you and stress is bad for you, but the new study shows the stress-buffering effects of physical activity in those who are chronically stressed,” says study author Eli Puterman, PhD, a health psychologist at the University of California at San Francisco.

When life gets stressful often times your fat loss training will take a back seat to vegging on the couch at the end of a long day. Don't get sucked into the couch. Take the extra effort and get in your workouts. Your body will thank you.

Exercise May Buffer Effects of Stress [WebMD]

More Good News About Caffeine

A new study published in the Journal of the International Society of Nutrition found that:

a moderate dose of caffeine may be sufficient for enhancing strength performance in resistance-trained women.

The women is the study were given 6 mg/kg of caffeine. Which for a 150lbs women is about 400mg of caffeine or 2 cups of coffee. When the women took the caffeine prior to working out they boosted their 1 rep max bench press by just under 2lbs. Not ground breaking strength gains but every little bit helps right? This fits in perfectly with my nutrient stacking concept and one more (small) reason to include some caffeine in your fat loss training program when you energy levels may be a little low.

Caffeine enhances upper body strength in resistance-trained women [JISSN.org]

Do What You Do Better with Caffeine

I've written before about the benefits of moderate caffeine and coffee consumption. A new review of studies looking at the effect of caffeine intake on shift workers (14% of Americans) show that it will cut down on work related errors and increase productivity.

Depending on the study design, the workers received caffeine through coffee, energy drinks, food, or pills. In most studies, the workers completed neuropsychological tests to gauge their memory, attention, reasoning, and perception skills. Several studies compared the results of neuropsychological testing in participants given caffeine versus a placebo.

The study authors say that, compared to doing nothing at all, the caffeine helped shift workers improve their cognitive performance and reduced job-related errors. None of the studies reviewed assessed the effects of caffeine on work-related injuries.

Caffeine Reduces on-the-Job Mistakes [WebMD]

Drink this to Sabotage Your Weight Loss Plan

The 4th Pillar of Nutrition is to "Drink more water and cut out calorie-containing beverages (beer, soda, etc.)." One of the fastest ways that I see people sabotage their fat loss diet is by drinking to many calories. So you can image that I was horrified (but not shocked) to see that Cold Stone has a shake that is just over 2,000 calories. While that is utterly ridiculous, I don't understand why companies have to make such calorically dense products? Who in their right mind would volunteer to drink 2,000 calories in one setting? Food scientists are pretty amazing now-a-days, you're telling me they could make the drink taste pretty much the same if it contained 1,000 calories?

I'll stick to drinking water and tea.

A milkshake containing 2,010 calories - equivalent to eating 68 strips of bacon or 30 chocolate chip cookies — has topped a list of the 20 worst drinks in America compiled by Men's Health magazine.

The Cold Stone PB&C milkshake, made with peanut butter, chocolate ice cream and milk, contains 68 grams of saturated fat and 153 grams of sugar, according to nutritional details on the company's website.

"In terms of saturated fat, drinking this Cold Stone catastrophe is like slurping up 68 strips of bacon," the magazine said.

Here's a recap of the 6 Pillar of Nutrition for you

2,000-calorie shake tops list of worst drinks [MSN Health]

Rice Krispies Boost Immune Function?

Several months ago when buying some cereal for the kids I came across the a box of Rice Krispies promising to boost Peter and Grace's immune system. I thought it was funny and snapped a picture with my phone. Apparently Kellogg's got in trouble for this.

The Kellogg Company will change immunity claims for Rice Krispies after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruled the claims misleading – but ruled out a financial penalty.

Instead the agency hit the $13bn food giant with an expanded settlement order that applies to all Kellogg’s products and associated health claims, along with a stern and somewhat unusual “dissenting statement” from FTC commissioner Julie Brill, and chairman Jon Leibowitz.

The letter accused Kellogg’s of irresponsibly conceiving and engaging in the multi-million dollar immunity campaign conceived last year at the very same time it was settling another misleading mental health claims conviction with the FTC.

But not enough trouble according to some people.

“What is utterly befuddling about this action is that Kellogg’s have hit the Daily Double with this – immunity and misleading claims aimed at children – and still the FTC won’t fine them just because they are Kellogg’s.”

“Here is a company that has breached a prior order [in relation to the mental health claim action] and still the FTC won’t take money from them. Even if that prior order didn’t exist the FTC has the power to disgorge a company of all of its ill-gotten gains. Kellogg’s has shown itself to be a repeat offender and it should have been punished accordingly.”

Dan Fabricant, PhD, the Natural Products Association’s vice president of scientific and global government affairs, agreed, "it was bizarre the FTC didn't hit Kellogg's with a fine".

 

I've written before about using caution when believing health claims on foods. What do you think?

Kellogg’s escapes FTC fine over false immunity claims [Food Navigator]

Foods that make you feel better fast

I'm convinced that food is one of the most powerful drugs out there. Aside from it making or breaking your fat loss goals what you eat can greatly effect your mood and wellbeing. the Real Age folks posted a list of their top 3 mood boosting foods (my favorite below) over at Yahoo Health Tips.

Tea: A spot of tea may give you just the mood and performance boost you crave, thanks to the caffeine. Plus, research links tea drinking to lower rates of depression. And studies show that the very act of preparing tea may soothe nerves.