I couldn’t resist the temptation to submit my own “new” Nutrition Facts label… below is a link to the detailed version of my entry.

Grant Roberts – New Nutrition Facts Label Submission

Obviously the purpose of a Nutrition Facts label should be to help consumers make healthier choices providing an informative icon to make a quick, intelligible decision when comparing one food product to another.

If a label is truly informative, it shouldn’t take any more than a few seconds to spot the obvious differences and choose the healthier option.

Sounds easy enough… but until now the old FDA Nutrition Facts label was only reiterating the same ambiguous USDA dribble that is purposefully confusing to consumers (see Who Do We Trust below).

The “new” Nutrition Facts label that I have submitted for consideration changes all of that. I have maintained the familiar look – but the information represents a revolutionary new way of thinking and important illuminating considerations when it comes to identifying what really matters when buying food.

Synopsis of the Revolutionary Change

Standard Serving Sizes for all categories of food shall be realistic and uniform.

The focus on calories (an nondescript unit of measure) will shift to delivering the “essential” nutrients.

The label must “add up” and be easily accountable in both Calories and Grams

The three (3) macronutrients Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate will be displayed prominently in percentage per serving totaling 100% (e.g. 30%protein, 30% fat, 40% carbohydrate)

The three (3) macronutrients Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate will be defined categorically:

Protein will be listed as a complete or incomplete source of the essential amino acids – listing the missing amino acids to aid all consumers (particularly vegetarians who generally must eat foods in combination to acquire all of the essential amino acids).

Fat will be divided into source: Saturated, Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated

Any amount of Man Made Trans Fat will be disclosed – no more less than .5g per serving = zero

Carbohydrates will be listed as:

Natural Sugar / Starch

Added Sugar

Artificial Sweetener

Fiber

The Glycemic Load of the serving will be prominently listed and described as either a high, medium or low glycemic food

Total number of ingredients will be listed and divided into natural source and artificial

Deletions:

Cholesterol will no longer be listed due to the lack of scientific evidence of ANY negative impact

Reference to a 2000-calorie diet since it is not representative of the average populations goal and is purposefully confusing.

Daily values likewise as they are based on the same fictitious 2000-calorie goal

Who Do We Trust?

Nutrition Facts                     V                       Nutrition Fiction

It is simply inexplicable that the USDA is charged with advising Americans what constitutes a healthful diet while simultaneously supporting the food industry through the provision of subsidies and devising the strategies to improve farm income and expand agriculture markets. It is impossible for the USDA to serve two masters without bias… especially since the USDA serves the Food Industry – a $500 billion enterprise, laden with capital and lobbyists to protect and influence their interests.

Until the public revolts and demands change, the USDA will remain the greatest obstruction to providing consumers with pertinent information that will allow an individual to make an informed decision to achieve / maintain a desired level of fitness (maintaining a healthful body composition through the delivery of the essential nutrients needed to support and sustain life in a disease free state)

The USDA guidelines are purposefully vague so that no food product or manufacturer is omitted or disparaged – the USDA never says “don’t eat something” instead uses a less industry offensive term: use sparingly,  allowing even the junkiest of junk food to fit neatly into the ambiguous daily caloric availability.

Literally a Legal… Case and Point

THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Plaintiff,

V.

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA), FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA)

Defendants

Following the release of the USDA’s Guidelines in the year 2000, the USDA was charged with what amounts to acts of duplicity, purposeful vagueness of information and bias to the benefit of the food industry in the creation of the nations nutritional advice USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The USDA was found GUILTY of conspiracy when the court ruled the USDA had violated the federal law that prohibits bias to special interest groups that revealed a full 6 or the 11 Guideline creation advisory board were food industry representatives / spokespersons.

Despite the verdict, the USDA dietary then and to date remains ambiguous at best. The USDA’s imprecise and influenced recommendations are used to reward industry with the lucrative government food services contracts for the nations schools, military, prisons, public employees and hospitals worth billions of dollars. This is ill informed cycle is perpetuated with the egregious use of the weak and indefinable advice that forms the unsound foundation of our educational institutions curriculum for future nutritionists, dietitians and health-care providers.

Please join the Revolution…Vote with your Fork.

© 2011 Copyrights Grant Roberts, All Rights Reserved

Summertime is often synonymous with swim-time – from backyard or community pools to lakes or the open ocean. Swimming is not only great fun… it’s great exercise.

The fact is, to enjoy the healthful benefits of water based exercise… you don’t even have to be able to swim.

Working out in shallow water can provide a unique variation from working out against the usual earthly forces.  Water provides resistance in both directions of movement unlike the conventional positive and negative resistance of gravity when lifting weights for traditional resistance on dry land. Anyone can perform water work outs… water is very easy on joints and provides a great passive aggressive form of resistance, you decide exactly how much resistance simply by the amount of force you generate against the water and the amount exertion.

Water can be used to build strength or endurance and even improve flexibility… the choice is yours. Take part in a high intensity anaerobic workout with wide-open hands to increase resistance or for a unique cardio session try walking or jogging against the force of water for a low impact aerobic change of pace and a cool escape.

If you want to improve your endurance swimming skills, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Swimming for distance should be effortless, if you are physically straining you are doing it wrong. The key is moving forward efficiently with the least possible amount of resistance. (Don’t wear baggy shorts that create drag).

A common mistake is trying to swim on the surface of the water. Drive your lead arm by reaching deep underwater with each stroke. Focus on increasing stroke length instead of stroke rate.

Proper technique requires rolling your shoulders while keeping your body horizontal; the head remains stationary in line with the spine… rotate the shoulders further on the breathing strokes to expose head for oxygen.

Rolling the shoulders and twisting your torso simultaneously, forces your head to surface to breath while keeping the head perfectly in line with your spine.

Breathe every two or three strokes. If you are short of breath rotate your body further – almost turning on to your back, this will allow a little more time in the rotation for a bigger draw of oxygen… remember to exhale fully and slowly while head is underwater.

© 2011 Copyrights Grant Roberts, All Rights Reserved

Many misconceptions exist over what method of cardiovascular training provides the most efficient and effective results for fat oxidation (energy consumed or extracted from fuel) or the more commonly referred term: fat burning.

Likely the greatest ongoing delusion is that cardio is the best method to burn fat, followed by erroneous belief that the faster you run the more fat you burn… wrong and wrong.

Before we get started, I feel it is important to point out that this article was created specifically to address the best methods of cardiovascular training for the purpose of burning fat, not improving athletic performance, endurance or oxygen utilization.

That being said, cardiovascular training is NOT the most effective method of exercise for burning fat. (In fact overdoing cardio may adversely slow your metabolism and lead to excess fat being stored). The most effective form of exercise to combat excess fat is resistance (anaerobic/weight) training. (Yes ladies… stop rotating between the treadmill, elliptical and steppers and instead head into the weight room… I promise, “You will not bulk up overnight into a she beast.” Unlike cardiovascular training, resistance training when performed properly is capable of preserving or increasing the amount of metabolic enhancing lean muscle tissue and contributing to a beautifully proportioned athletic shape. As far as running goes… only sprinting creates shape because it is anaerobic – all the long distance running in the world won’t build better glutes or thighs… in fact, over do it and the shapely muscle will waste away … not fat.

Regardless cardiovascular training remains very popular and is an important part of your lifestyle / exercise program.  The cardiovascular system is limited to your heart, veins and blood vessels including your lungs that circulate oxygenate blood and removes waste systematically. Cardio exercise is defined as any rhythmic activity that elevates the heart rate for periods greater than 20 minutes… yes-even sex can be considered a cardio workout… if you can pass the 20-minute threshold.

What is the most effective method for burning fat with cardiovascular training?

Points to Consider: Optimum time of day…how long…how often…and what of level intensity?

Time of Day:

The most effective time of day to perform cardiovascular training for optimum fat burning would be first thing upon waking and consuming your first meal (breakfast) following the cardio session.

How Long…How Fast…How Often:

As for duration, pace and frequency, the answer is plain and simple… slow, steady and sporadic wins the race. Maintaining a heart rate of approximately 65 – 70% % of maximum* capacity provides optimal fat burning potential. Typically 45 minutes to 1-hour sessions 2 to 3 times a week is sufficient. Sessions should be a minimum of 20 minutes to an absolute maximum of 75 minutes  (without taking in nutrients) and never more than 4 days a week when burning excess body fat is the goal.

Explanation:

Like any internal combustion engine, humans require a mixture of fuel and oxygen to perform a given task. The percentage of the fuel mixture (fat, carb or protein) is dependent upon pace or more accurately the oxygen consumption . Over time the stored fuel (fat, glycogen or muscle tissue) is depleted, We all burn some mixture or combination of fat, glycogen or protein the preferred source or greater percentage of fat being used as a fuel is dependent upon oxygen availability, dictated by the level of intensity.

Generally speaking, most of us have vast quantities of stored fat… enough to run a dozen marathons in a row.

What we don’t have is unlimited glycogen (stored carbohydrate in our muscle cells). The more muscle one has, the more glycogen, but the more muscle the more fuel is required to move the muscles.

It is for this reason that performing any heart raising cardiovascular activity for greater than 75 minutes may become counter productive (and why marathoners take in sugar based drinks during the race)… because the body has spent the limited glycogen stores and in order to provide the required percentage of glycogen, the body systematically starts breaking down muscle tissue (gluconogenesis) to continue fueling the motion.  Something you never want to do!

Muscle is a great metabolic booster so you want to protect the muscle tissue you have, loosing muscle mass will ultimately slow your metabolism. Understanding your body fat to lean muscle ration is of critical importance to gauge your success by periodically testing your body fat percentage and not the scale!

A FREE waist circumference body fat calculator to estimate your body fat percentage, describe healthy levels and illustrate your lean body mass total is available on the top right hand corner on the home page – www.unifiedlifestyle.com

Partaking in heart raising cardio activities beyond 20 minutes regardless of variety or type of cardio exercise should not exceed 4 sessions a week. Beyond that, your body may start adapting to the load being placed on it and send an anticipatory signal to slow the metabolism. Remember the human body has a genetic predisposition that has been programmed over the last 3 million years to store fat for times of famine.

Intensity:

Many people believe the faster they run, the faster they will lose fat…it may sound logical but it does not take into account how the body utilizes stored fuels…namely the macro nutrients Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates

It is important that the reader understand that we are talking about High Intensity Cardiovascular Training and not High Intensity Resistance (Weight) Training – these two types of exercise are diametrically opposed and the principles outlining the negative aspects of High Intensity Cardio on fat burning do not apply to High Intensity Resistance training. High Intensity resistance training is very beneficial for fat burning provided optimum rest periods between sets and muscle groups between training sessions are provided…thus the reason cardiovascular training is synonymous with aerobic training (with oxygen) and resistance or weight training is categorized as anaerobic (without oxygen) but that is another article.

A popular misconception is that High Intensity Cardiovascular Training (HICT) burns more calories in a shorter period of time and keeps the metabolism revved up post workout. The first problem in this statement is that the theory suggests HICT burns more calories…not fat. I cannot stress this point enough, CALORIES DO NOT EXIST! A Calorie is simply the name used to describe a unit of measure of energy, which is indiscriminate of the source of energy. In this case the topic of concern is fat oxidation not simply utilizing energy in a time efficient manner regardless of source of macronutrient namely carbohydrates, protein or fat.

Therefore I suggest that you pay no attention to the little gauge on the cardio machine that ticks away the number of calories used during the exercise increasing the rate of calories allegedly consumed the faster you go. The explanation is quite simple; fat requires more time and energy to digest than the other macronutrients and is also the most energy dense nutrient (which also explains the reason why the human body stores fat – simple economics of space. Imagine how large people could be if we stored carbohydrates with less than half the energy /caloric density of fat per gram) so too does this density apply to the oxidation or burning of fat through exercise. Slow and steady wins this race every time. As soon as you elevate your heart rate beyond the optimum 65% capacity – the body will convert from burning energy (calories) primarily from fat as a fuel to accessing energy from stored carbohydrates (glycogen) or protein (muscle).

The explanation is based on the simple fact that fat requires an oxygen rich environment to burn. When oxygen is not abundant – meaning when the heart rate is elevated to a level which creates a greater demand for oxygen to fuel the motion (faster pace = faster heat rate = more oxygen consumed) therefore as an economic measure the body will cease burning fat and commence accessing the more efficiently combustible fuel source of glycogen (carbohydrate) stores.

If one was to maintain a high heart rate pace and deplete all of the stored glucose the body will then access and commence burning the next most efficient fuel source which would be protein by breaking down muscle tissue – something you never want to do. This is the reason why you frequently see marathon athletes intake some form of high glycemic drink or snack at intervals during a race to replenish the fuel in attempt to spare muscle from being catabolized to provide fuel.

It is for this reason that I recommend exercise does not exceed 75 minutes in length as the glycogen fuel sources are typically depleted and the body will then be left with no alternative but to commence breaking down protein (muscle).

What About Walking:

Walking does not typically raise heart rate substantially and can be performed for long periods because the dominant fuel in the mixture is fat. Fat burns efficiently in an oxygen rich (low heart rate) environment.

Moral of the story – Walk you dog everyday… even if you don’t have one.

* To determine an individual’s maximum capacity heart rate a simplistic and widely accepted formula is 220 beats per minute – minus your age. E.g. 220 – (age) = max heart rate – Multiply this number by 65% to determine target heart rate.

Scientific Support:

An Intensity Study on Fuel Utilized through endurance orientated exercise (cardio)

Comparison of various exercise intensities on plasma glucose (blood sugar) concentrations after 30 minutes of cycling found that as intensity increased, plasma glucose concentration increased. Specifically, the mean values were 77, 98, and 147 milligrams per deciliter of plasma glucose concentrations for 25, 65, and 85 % V02 max intensities.

This facilitated a higher reliance on glucose, as carbohydrate utilization increased as intensity increased. In the 25 % V02 max condition, carbohydrate oxidation provided approximately 7.5 % of the fuel used. Further, muscle glycogen stores did not contribute significantly to this number, suggesting almost complete reliance on peripheral glucose.

In the 65 % condition, carbohydrate utilization provided approximately 50 % of the fuel utilized, with 80 % of this coming from intramuscular glycogen stores.

During the 85 % V02 max condition, 75 % of the energy was derived from carbohydrate utilization, with 80 % coming from muscle glycogen stores.

The proportion of fat oxidation, showed an inverse relationship with exercise intensity. Over 85 % of the fuel during 25 % V02 max was provided by fatty acids from adipose, while 7.5 % was provided by intramuscular TGs (triglycerides). In the 65 % condition, 50 % of the fuel was derived from lipid (fat) oxidation, in equal measure from adipose and intramuscular stores. The lowest percentage was found in the 85 % condition, with only 25 % of the fuel coming from lipid oxidation from equal measure of adipose and intramuscular TGs

From the above findings it should be noted that total fat oxidation is greatest at moderate intensity, while total glycogen depletion is greatest at high intensity exercise. Fat utilized from adipose tissue was greatest in the low intensity condition, while glycogen depletion was lowest at this intensity.

This suggests, that based on lipid oxidation, that 65 % V02 max is optimal.

© 2011 Copyrights Grant Roberts, All Rights Reserved

Apparently the FDA believes so much so, they have decided to draw you a picture.

The FDA has announced that effective September 2012, tobacco products will require prominent warnings on all packaging and advertisements in the US. The warnings mark the first change in more than 25 years that begs the more important question why are tobacco products allowed to be sold in the first place?

The new mandate for graphic warning labels has been met with controversy, which only further illustrates the questionable mental faculties of smokers. Click any of the graphics below to see a larger view.

Here are the only two questions any sane person needs to ask him or herself:

1. If I smoke do I increase my risk of dying prematurely?

2. If I quit will I reduce my risk?

The answer to both questions is YES!

The evidence is irrefutable; smoking causes cancer, heart disease, lung disease and strokes. Tobacco remains the number one preventable cause of death

1227 REASONS SMOKING IS STILL LEGAL

The tobacco industry represents the number one cause of preventable deaths in the US… estimated to kill on average more than 1200 people every single day in the US alone – Roughly the equivalent of the occupancy of 3 or 4 servings of jumbo jets.

Now if a handful of jets fell out of the US sky every day…365 days a year killing everybody on board… I think it is a pretty safe bet that the government would intervene – so why not stop big tobacco – I suspect the big… in big tobacco stands for big money.

To perhaps better illustrate the potential contorted mindset of an industry and its influence on government.

The following are the facts of an actual report that was inadvertently leaked.

Philip Morris commissioned a study that was created by a U.S. consulting firm in 1999 isolating the economic impact of tobacco consumption that was presented to the Government of the Czech Republic for only one conceivable reason – to encourage government backed consumption of tobacco based on the shear economic viability …with no regard or the value for the sanctity of human life.

So, if you have ever felt that in the eyes…or spreadsheets of a business or government… that you are just a number…well if you happened to reside in the Czech Republic, that number would be the US equivalent of $1,227.00 to be exact.

That is how much the profiteers and bean counters at Philip Morris shamelessly reported that Czech government could expect to profit by tobacco tax revenues and/or expect to save on pensions, health care and housing costs every time an individual smoker died prematurely… and unfortunately…No, I am not making this up.  Below is a copy of the Czech Republic Tobacco Study Commissioned by Phillip Morris

Czech Republic Tobacco Study – Click to View.

The Good News

The second you quit smoking your body commences an attempt to repair the damage if the smoking induced cancer has not manifested itself into a terminal condition.

Damage from smoking is pervasive, it is estimated that it takes 10 years of cessation to reduce your risk of lung disease by 50% and 15 years to return your risk of contracting heart disease equal to that of a non-smoker.

When you think about it… it is the States civic duty to intervene when someone is mentally inept and their actions deem them to be a risk to themselves.

Recently some local governments are taking action that ultimately adds one more inevitable certainty for smokers:

Death, Taxes and Fines

New York City Bans Smoking in Parks, beaches, Public Plazas and Boardwalks

New York proposes to join the four existing States that Ban Smoking in Cars with Children

© 2011 Copyrights Grant Roberts, All Rights Reserved

Likewise, mothers milk is the perfect food for human babies.

It is just unnatural and problematic to drink milk from another species.

Some enterprising Chinese scientists seem to agree?

As a result you may soon have one more choice in the dairy case:

SKIM ,   1% ,    2% ,     80% Human

China’s Solution:

Why not design a cow to produce human breast milk?

Chinese scientists have genetically modified and produced a transgenic herd of 300 cattle that produce human breast milk by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos that now produce milk that is 80% similar to human breast milk. China hopes to be selling the genetically modified milk in supermarkets within 3 years.

I can visualize the packaging now … front:  “Milk so good, you would have to be a real boob to know the difference” back:    MISSING – Logic

Watch more: CBSnews Human Breast Milk from a Cow

Read more: Business-opportunities Made-in-China-human-milk-from-cows

© 2011 Copyrights Grant Roberts, All Rights Reserved