February is Heart Health Awareness Month

February is Heart Health Awareness Month. Take your cardiovascular health to heart and let Herbalife help you protect and improve your body with cellular nutrition! February is Heart Health Month! Our goal for the next 28 days is to get the word out and make sure that everyone, especially women, understand the important facts about heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, 43 million women in the U. S. are currently affected by heart disease, and one in the three women will die from it. That's ONE IN THREE of our mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, and wives. In order to see changes in these statistics, we all need to be educated. Here are a few ways that you can help to prevent heart disease: If you smoke, QUIT TODAY! Quitting smoking quickly reduces your risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). Within five to 10 years of quitting, your risk of heart attack declines to a level similar to that of people who never smoked, regardless of how long you smoked. Move! Staying active is very important. You don't have to be a "gym rat" to keep your heart pumping. Sedentary people who begin a regular program of exercise reduce their risk of a heart attack by 35 to 55 percent. Low-intensity activities, such as gardening or walking, if done regularly and over the long term, can decrease the risk of heart attack. Maintain a healthy weight. As you put on weight in adulthood (and most of us do), your weight gain is mostly fat rather than muscle. This excess weight can lead to conditions that increase your chances of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Size does matter! Get regular health screenings. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage your heart and blood vessels. But without testing for them, you probably won't know whether you have these conditions. Regular screening can tell you what your numbers are and whether you need to take action. Eat fish. People who eat fish regularly are less likely to have heart disease, mainly due to the Omega-3 fatty acids that it contains. And if you don't care for fish, you should strongly consider DHA/Omega 3- supplements. What are you doing to prevent heart disease? Niteworks Orange-Mango It's Going to Win Your Heart! Take your cardiovascular health to heart and try the new Niteworks Orange-Mango. This dietary supplement is a refreshing powder mix that helps you create more life-supporting Nitric Oxide during the night, when Nitric Oxide levels are naturally lowest.                      Heart Smart Choc Berry Shake Ingredients: 1 scoop Dutch Chocolate Formula 1 1 scoop Wild Berry Formula 1 1 cup nonfat milk or water 5-6 ice cubes Directions:Place all ingredients in the blender and mix thoroughly until the ice cubes are completely crushed.    Niteworks®     This refreshing nighttime powder mix supports energy, circulatory and vascular health, and helps with Nitric Oxide (NO) production at night when NO levels are lowest. Herbalifeline®     Herbalifeline's Omega-3 fatty acids help to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system by maintaining cholesterol and triglyceride levels already within normal range. Core Complex with CoQ10 Plus®     Convenient daily packettes contain 6 softgels, including Herbalifeline®, Tri-Shield® and CoQ10 Plus supports healthy heart & blood vessel function, and maintains healthy homocysteine levels already within a normal range.

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How to be Heart Healthy

The story around diet and heart health has been around long enough that you probably know the drill pretty well.  Watch your weight, keep your total fats and saturated fats down, and don’t be too heavy-handed with the salt shaker.  Sprinkle in some soluble fiber – from foods like beans and oatmeal – and you’ve got a pretty good dietary strategy.

All good advice, to be sure.  After all, a high-fat diet can put weight on you, saturated fats can bump up your blood cholesterol levels, and too much salt can drive up blood pressure – all of which can increase your risk for heart disease.  But there are a couple of other pieces to the heart health puzzle that are getting more attention these days – a fatty acid “balancing act”, and a little molecule called nitric oxide.

Make sure you find the right fatty-acid balance

Many years ago, the memo on dietary fats was pretty short: saturated fats were the bad guys, and polyunsaturated fats were the good guys.  But the story has gotten a lot more complex, due to growing concern that our balance of two kinds of polyunsaturated fats – the omega-3 fats and the omega-6 fats – is way out of whack.  And, it appears that this imbalance is affecting our health.
It isn’t simply that omega-3 fatty acids are the good guys, and that omega-6 fats are the bad guys.   Neither of these fats is inherently “bad”.  In fact, they’re called “essential” fatty acids – which means that we need to eat them, because our body can’t make them.  In small amounts (and in the proper balance), these essential fatty acids serve important functions in the body such as supporting growth, vision and brain function, and healthy circulation.
The trouble is that we generally eat far too much of the omega-6 fatty acids and not enough omega-3.  And while we need them both, if we don’t take them in the right balance, it can affect our health. Our modern-day diet is overloaded with omega-6 laden foods like chips, salad dressings and sweets.  At the same time, we come up short when it comes to eating foods like fish, vegetables, walnuts and flaxseeds that supply omega-3s. Two omega-3 fatty acids in particular – called EPA and DHA – are abundant in fish, and help to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, but many people don’t eat the recommended minimum of two fish meals per week.
The good news is that you can shift your ratio of these fatty acids in your diet.  One of the healthiest practices is to try to have several fish meals a week to providehealthy EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids.  Fresh fish is great, but canned fish is easy and convenient, too.  If you’re not a fish lover, you can supplement with fish oil capsules that provide omega-3 fatty acids.
Let’s talk about nitrates and nitric oxide
Nitric oxide – produced in cells lining the surface of the blood vessels – is a gas that dilates arteries, which in turn aids blood flow and reduces blood pressure.  It’s also a strong antioxidant, working to relieve oxidative stress in the body and reduce the threat of heart disease.
Nitric oxide is produced by the body from oxygen, along with arginine – an amino acid found in abundance in protein-rich foods like nuts, beans and seafood. But there’s also another source – our bodies can manufacture nitric oxide from the nitrates in the foods that we eat.
You may only know nitrates and nitrites as an additive to cured meats like ham – they’re put there primarily to preserve freshness, color and flavor.  But in fact, very little of the nitrate we eat comes from cured meats.
It turns out that the majority of the nitrate we consume comes from vegetables and fruits, the richest sources being spinach, lettuce, celery, cauliflower, grapes, strawberries and root vegetables. Fruits and vegetables have always been known as nutritional powerhouses – they’re loaded with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and they provide vitamin C, which enhances the generation of nitric oxide in the body.  But the fact that they’re also nitrate-rich gives us yet another reason to eat plenty of them.
Foods to choose for a healthy heart
The foundations of a heart-healthy diet are pretty simple – it’s what you already know as a healthy, well-balanced diet.

• Eat more fruits, veggies, whole grains and beans as they deliver vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.
• Enjoy the healthy low-fat proteins you eat as they’ll keep your total fat and saturated fat intake in check.
• Keep your total fat intake low – ideally, you want to eat only the amount that you need to add flavor to foods. And when you do eat fats, you’ll want to focus on the healthy ones that are provided by foods like fish, nuts, avocado and olive oil.
• Since it’s such a rich source of omega-3 fats; seafood should be on your menu as often as possible.
• While you’re trying to increase your omega-3s you should also focus on reducing your omega-6s by cutting back on fatty foods altogether. Choose nonfat or lowfat dairy products, poultry breast, lean cuts of red meat, and plant protein sources such as beans, lentils and tofu.
• Limit your added fats, too, by trimming dressings, spreads, sauces and fried foods from your diet whenever you can.
• When it comes to carbohydrates, try to steer clear of processed starchy foods, and instead fill your plate with foods rich in soluble fiber – beans, sweet potatoes, berries, plums, broccoli and carrots – which help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.   At the same time, you get an added bonus, since fruits and vegetables serve up plenty of natural heart-healthy nitrates, too.

Written by Susan Bowerman

Correct stretching: how to find balance with flexibility training

Let’s talk about the dos and don’ts of stretching.  Flexibility is one of the key factors of any good fitness routine. Yet,  many exercisers often misunderstand some key aspects related to correct stretching. 

How to stretch, when to stretch and how long to hold stretches are just a few of the questions that people ask on a regular basis. 

Some people are born to be more flexible than others.  The good news is that whatever level of flexibility you’re born with, correct stretching will help you improve. 

Why is stretching correctly important?

1.      Stretching helps you maximize your body’s ability to move freely.

In simple terms that means stretching helps you get out of your own way internally so your body can perform at its best. Tight soft tissue can restrict joint movements and hinder important tendons from effectively doing their job.

2.      Stretching helps you avoid injury.

Training with tight muscles can lead to serious injury and muscle tears. With these two reasons in mind, you should never skimp on stretching before and after exercise.

How much stretching is enough?

“Fitness is not a one size fits all situation and, because flexibility is a factor of fitness, you must determine what is right for your own body” You should navigate your own personal stretching needs and keep these dos and don’ts in mind.

Correct stretching dos and don’ts

 Do:

• Spend time doing dynamic stretches before exercising.
• Dynamic stretching involves gentle movements to increase your range of movement. It improves blood and oxygen flow to soft tissues prior to exertion and also prepares receptors within the muscle to perform.
• Prepare your body with fluid flowing movements such as arm circles, leg swings and gentle bending.

Don’t:

• Use jerky bouncing or forced movements to increase your range of motion as this can cause injury.
• This ballistic stretching forces your muscles into an extended range of motion and the risks are not worth the rewards.

Do:

• Dedicate at least 10 minutes after a workout to loosen tight muscles with static stretches that you hold for approximately 30 seconds.

• Stretch to the point of slight discomfort then back off a little and hold. This type of stretching can improve your overall flexibility and may decrease the amount of muscle soreness you experience after exercising.

Don’t:

• Stretch to the point of pain or severe discomfort. You shouldn’t ever hurt your body though exercise and too much flexibility is not good for your body.
• Your joints rely on muscle tension to hold them in the correct position so, if you overstretch or push your body past what is comfortable, you can increase the likelihood of joint and tendon problems.

Find your own perfect flexibility balance

There is an art to finding your body’s balance and the only way to do it is to be aware and conscious of your movements. It’s simple advice but make sure you exercise commonsense at all times when exercising! If you listen to your body the chances are that you will achieve results faster and you’ll avoid causing yourself injury.  Part of this commonsense approach to exercising is listening to your body: if you feel any pain or discomfort then stop.

If you take an exercise class show up a few minutes early to a class and do your own dynamic stretch routine before the class starts and if you need to, stay a little later after class to complete your warm-down. If you are rushed for time then don’t rush your stretching: try to make your main workout more effective instead by using combination exercises.

Your body is exactly that it’s ‘your body’.  Take responsibility for caring for it correctly and never just copy someone else’s routine.  Instead educate yourself and find what works for you. Start at the top of your body, gently working your way down and addressing all major muscle groups.  Stretching and movement is natural, so relax and do what feels right.

Written by Samantha Clayton.

Why You Need to Make Time for Yoga

Let’s talk about yoga. Do you think it’s a calming and low impact form of exercise? While it can be, yoga also offers challenges that are suitable for exercise newbies and professional athletes alike.

Although mastering the form and spending time showing off a perfect yoga pose on an empty beach or atop a scenic mountain looks good, yoga is about building strength.  Most people view yoga as simply gentle stretching in peaceful surroundings. Pretty much something you would do on your rest day from what some consider to be "real exercise". 

There are many disciplines of yoga, all with unique benefits and challenges

Finding the right yoga style for you

Yoga makes you strong in ways beyond the physical.

If you have a busy mind, always thinking about your next task, maybe you need yoga to help you develop mental strength too. Do you want to get a strong and flexible body? Or, do you need to spend time following a set and flowing routine to help you develop some co-ordination? Whatever your needs or fitness goals

Hatha Yoga

Hatha yoga is a style that truly encourages the mind-body connection, it is a very traditional practice focused on truly controlling the breath and calming the mind through meditation. This style of yoga practice is great for slow, controlled and focused movements . This style is great for anyone new to exercise because a lot of emphasis is placed on being in perfect alignment.

Ashtanga Yoga

There are many variations of this dynamic style of yoga, but traditional ashtanga yoga it is based on a set of flowing movements. Each movement is directly connected to your breath, one movement on your inhale and the next movement on your exhale. If you like to follow a set routine without much variation this style of yoga is for you. No matter which studio you go to, the flow will be the same making it a perfect choice for people who travel and love keep some consistency in their routine.
Once you have the basic movements mastered, the breathing can truly become the focus of your practice. Ashtanga yoga is calming and stress relieving and  provides participants with a true physical challenge that will strengthen your muscles and help you to stay focused.

Bikram or Hot Yoga

Bikram yoga is a mind-body-physical challenge like no other. This style is based very closely on the traditional ashtanga flow yoga but with an added element of difficulty; the room is kept at a temperature of about 100-105 degrees. The heat makes you sweat profusely and creates an environment that is believed to help the body de-toxify and also to improve your ability to stretch further with each pose.

Bikram yoga can help you to get strong toned sexy arms, flat lean abs and killer leg definition because the flow of movements in the heat challenges your entire body. Many studios use great music to help keep you motivated but let me warn you that this practice is not those people new to exercise.

There are dangers associated with working out in the heat so use caution and be aware of the dangers before you take a class. A typical class lasts for about 75 minutes.

Allow yoga to make you strong

 Discover for yourself that yoga is not just for relaxing on your off day from running or going to the gym. Yoga can give you a challenging workout that will build your strength in ways you never imagined.

Written by Samantha Clayton.

Your must-have guide to smart ordering in restaurants

Keep a few smart ordering ideas in mind when you’re eating out and you’ll stay in control of your calories, your appetite and your waistline! 

Here are some ‘little things’ you can do every time you eat out – and rack up plenty of calorie savings in the process.

Smart ordering tip 1 – spoil your dinner

One frequent problem with restaurant dining is that it takes time to get seated, look over the menu and place your order –  and by the time your meal arrives you’re starving.  That’s why many restaurants pop down a basket of bread and butter or some tortilla chips and salsa to tide you over.  So, spoil your dinner a little bit – have a piece of fruit, a few bites of cottage cheese or yogurt or a small handful of nuts before you go – and turn down the bread and the chips which can add hundreds of calories to your meal before you’ve dug into your first course.
Calories you could save: 150 (1 slice bread + butter) to 500 (basket of chips)
Smart ordering tip 2 – the water’s fine
Cocktails, wine, soda, and sweet beverages like lemonade don’t fill you up, but they can sure fill you out.  And, in the case of soda, free refills are often the norm in America – and that could mean hundreds of extra calories.  Instead, ask for unsweetened iced tea, plain water or mineral water with a slice of lemon.
Calories you could save: 100 (glass of wine) to 400 (large soda + 1 refill)
Smart ordering tip 3 – skinny dip
Starting your meal with a salad is a great habit to get into – as long as the salad isn’t loaded down with fatty ingredients and heavy dressing.  Opt for plenty of greens with an oil and vinegar dressing – served on the side – and ‘do the dip’.  Dip your fork in the dressing, then pick up some greens with your fork.  You’ll get a little taste of dressing with each bite, but you’ll use far less.
Calories you could save: 200+ (75 calories per tablespoon – most restaurants add about 4 tablespoons of dressing to the typical dinner salad)
Smart ordering tip 4 - go fish

Many people I talk to know they should eat more fish, but they don’t cook it at home – either because they don’t know how to cook it properly, or they say it makes the house stink….two good reasons why it’s a good choice when you go out.  There’s another good reason, too.  As long as it’s grilled and broiled – rather than deep fried – fish has a lot fewer calories than an equivalent serving of red meat.

Calories you could save: 200 (4 ounces grilled fish vs. 4 ounces broiled steak)
Smart ordering tip 5 – take the first crack
If you’re dining with a group, try to order before everyone else does.  If you’ve planned ahead, and have a pretty good idea of what you want to eat, it’s a lot easier to stick with your agenda if you place your order first -  before you get swayed by everyone else’s choices.  When dessert time rolls around, you can ask for fresh fruit or coffee before you even peek at the menu – and before everyone else orders pastry.
Calories you could save: 300 (piece of layer cake) to 1000 (piece of cheesecake)
Smart ordering tip 6 – do the splits
It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating – restaurant portions can be huge. Split an entrée with a dining companion and order an extra side of veggies, or have your leftovers packed up as soon as you’ve eaten your portion.  Those in the restaurant business know that customers want value – in other words, they want big portions at a reasonable price.  And since it costs the restaurant much less to buy the food than it does to cook and serve it to you, most places are more than happy to super-size portions.  They may be able to afford to “pile it on” – but can you?
Calories you could save: Hundreds.  Restaurant entrees can easily run 800-1000 calories.  

Written by Susan Bowerman

Eat Well, Live Well

If changing eating habits were easy, everyone would be fit and healthy. One key to making lasting improvements is to make changes in stages. Start with something simple and stick to it for a week. After your family has mastered one change, add another.


Some Ideas to Get You Started

• Eat breakfast.


• Substitute water for one sugary drink each day.


• Eat one to two more fruits or vegetables each day.


• Plan a healthy snack for each day of the week.


• Switch to a low-fat version of a favorite food.


• Plan three meals and two snacks every day.


• Plan a home-cooked meal, which usually has fewer calories, more reasonable portions and costs less than typical meals eaten at restaurants.

Set the Example

Parents play a big role in guiding their children’s eating habits by the examples they set, the foods they make available in the home and the mealtime experiences they create for their families.

Offer healthy snacks such as fruit, low-fat cottage cheese or yogurt, frozen juice bars, applesauce, celery or apples and peanut butter, raw vegetables, graham crackers, fig bars or whole wheat crackers and low-fat cheese. Large portions mean too many calories. A snack for a typical adult may be a container of yogurt, but for a preschooler, two or three tablespoons of yogurt is about right.

Make Eating an Enjoyable Activity for the Whole Family

Family meals can be a time to monitor what children are eating and reconnect with each other. Involve children in food preparation and clean-up, and sit down with children when they eat. The idea is to build healthy lifelong eating habits.

Some healthy eating tips include the following:

• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables – half your plate at each meal should be vegetables or fruit.


• Beware of sweetened drinks – sodas and sports drinks are high in calories. Keep in mind that too much juice can also quickly add calories to a child’s diet.


• Choose food sensibly when eating out.

Healthy Food Tips When Eating Out

• Ask if you don’t know what is in a dish or the serving size.


• Eat the same portion size you would at home.


• Ask for sauces, gravy and dressings on the side – or avoid them altogether.


• Order foods that are not breaded or fried.


• Order fruit for dessert.


• Ask for substitutions: A vegetable instead of fries, or for the high-fat food to be left off the plate.


• Ask for low-calorie versions of food. Vinegar and oil or a squeeze of lemon is better than high-fat dressings or sauces.

Did You Know...?

Americans eat an average of 4.2 commercially prepared meals each week. Processed foods are likely to be higher in calories, fat, and salt and lower in fiber than meals prepared at home.

Protein

PROTEIN

The word protein originates from the idea that proteins are central to life and the first nutrient. Vitamins – vita meaning life and amin meaning protein – got their name from the misconception that amino acids, the building blocks of protein, were the essential components for maintaining life.

Proteins are found in animals and plants, but the mixture of amino acids – the building blocks of the protein found from different sources – varies. As a result, there are 21 common amino acids consisting of 12 nonessential and nine essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are those that cannot be synthesized from other amino acids, but must be consumed in the diet. The usual way that nonessential amino acids are formed is by metabolism of other amino acids. All amino acids have a basic structure of an alpha-amino nitrogen and carboxylic acid.

Maintaining the amounts of protein in muscles and organs is essential to life and is the main objective of the adaptation to starvation. In fact, loss of more than 50 percent of body protein is incompatible with life. The protein is stored in organs and there is no labile compartment.

The Importance of Protein

There is evidence that modestly increasing the proportion of protein in the diet, while controlling total calorie intake, may:

• Improve body composition.


• Facilitate fat loss.


• Improve body weight maintenance after weight loss.

Fat Retention 

Mankind is very well adapted to malnutrition and starvation, and this adaptation is reflected both in the way the body stores energy and how it uses these stores of energy when food intake is reduced or eliminated altogether. In the average 70 kg (154 lbs) man:

• The largest store of calories is in the form of fat in adipose tissue with approximately 135,000 calories* stored in 13.5 kg (30 lbs) of adipose tissue.

*A dietary calorie is 1,000 calories or a kcal, but for simplicity will simply be noted as calories. You may also see dietary calories capitalized as “Calories.”

This storage compartment can be greatly expanded with long-term overnutrition in obese individuals.

There are approximately 54,000 calories stored as protein both in muscle and organs, such as the heart and liver. Only half of these calories can be mobilized for energy, since depletion below 50 percent of total protein stores is incompatible with life. In addition to being an energy source, protein plays a functional role in many organs, including the liver, and depletion is associated with impaired immunity to infection. In fact, the most common cause of death in an epidemic of starvation is typically simple bacterial pneumonia. Conservation of protein is an adaptation tightly linked to survival during acute starvation.

Meal Replacement Shakes and Weight Maintenance

Studies show that meal replacement shakes are a viable way to maintain weight, as recognized by the European Food Safety Authority, and that increasing the protein to about 30 percent of resting metabolic rate, as estimated by bioelectrical impedance, leads to greater loss of fat with retention of lean body mass.