Many people have allergies to dairy, or are lactose-intolerant, making it inevitable for them to use milk alternatives, thereby choosing Soymilk instead of regular milk. And though several brands and flavors of Soymilk is available out there in the stores, if you use it on a daily basis, this can get to be an expensive affair! But, by making your own Soymilk at home, you can save tonnes of money, as well as get fresh milk every 3-4 days. Its really easy, and unbelievably cheap, plus you can use the leftover "Okara" (the pulp from the soybeans after the milk is extracted) to make delicious Soybean burgers, or any other soy-based recipe! So here goes, make your own Soymilk using 3 ingredients, and in 5 easy steps! [photo courtesy of US Agricultural Research Service]
Soya beans are almost a staple food in the US now. They are packed with proteins, and can be eaten raw, as Edamame beans, or as dried beans that are used below to make SoyMilk.
Ingredients 1 cup dry soybeans sweetener (honey, barley malt or sugar) - add to your taste water (about 12-15 cups) Note: Generally, you need about 125 g whole soya beans and 1 liter of water to make 1 liter of soy milk. Flavoring (optional, like Chocolate, Vanilla, or Almond essence)
Method Soak the beans overnight or longer(like 10-14 hours). Discard the water and rinse the beans thoroughly. This will also help loosen the hull so you can remove them. This helps in better extraction of soy milk.
Now throw one part beans and 2 parts water into the blender, preferably a high-duty one, like Vitamix, and whiz as long as you can. The finer the pulp, the higher the yield of milk will be. Repeat for any remaining beans.
Take a colander over a large pot, then line it with a cheese-cloth. Pour the mush into cloth-lined colander, and pour the remaining water(if any left) over the pulp.
Now fold the cloth over the mush and press to get as much of the milk out as possible. Save the mush (which is now known as "okara") to make something out of it, like soybean burgers or patties.
Next, bring the extracted milk to a boil, and let it boil for about 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat, let it simmer for another few minutes, then turn the heat off. Add the desired amount of sweetener to your taste, and even any other flavoring if you want, then allow to cool completely to room temperature. Add the
After cooling, the soy milk is ready and can be kept in the fridge for another 3 days. Soymilk can rot fast, so if you can't use it quickly enough, don't make too much. You can freeze it, but when you thaw it, be prepared for a cottage-cheese kind of taste when you drink it. Adding sweetener and additional flavoring can help reduce this distinct taste though.
There your Soymilk is ready, and now you can go ahead and enjoy it by itself, or use it as a base for making delicious Soymilk Smoothies!
A 21-day so-called 'diet' of grapefruits, a little protein and not much else.
Despite many ludicrous claims, grapefruit (like cabbage) does not possess any 'fat-burning' properties.
What you eat
Typical breakfastHalf a grapefruit & black coffee.Typical lunchHalf a grapefruit, 1 egg, some salad, a piece of toast & tea or coffee w/o milkTypical dinner
Half a grapefruit, 2 eggs, half a head of lettuce with tomato, & tea or coffee (no milk).
Advantages
Grapefruit is fat free, low in calories and full of vitamin C. Pink grapefruits also contain some beta-carotene. However, eating a few grapefruits hardly justifies calling it a 'diet'.
Drawbacks
Lacking sufficient iron, calcium, and many vitamins, this 'diet' is unhealthy as well as monotonous. Also, it contains far too few calories. Needless to say, it doesn't help you to change your eating habits which is the No 1 secret of permanent weight loss
Choose potatoes that are organically grown, small in size, but heavy for their size. Avoid potatoes with skin discolorations such as dark brown or green spots.
2
Eat only potatoes, morning, noon and night, for two to four days. Eat them baked, mashed, steamed, roasted, and juiced, but never fried.
3
Season your potatoes with chives, mint, cumin, turmeric, fennel, caraway, paprika, dill, nutmeg, rosemary and fresh garlic. Use potato juice or herbal teas to aid in making mashed potatoes, but never add milk.
4
Leave the skins on the potatoes. The skins account for over 75% of the potato's mineral value.
5
Drink plenty of water and herbal teas. Use potato peels to make tea. Or make herbal teas to target specific ailments you may be dealing with. While your body is fasting it is particularily available to other treatments you may induce. Corn silk tea, burdock, nettle, yarrow, and dandelion root tea are all excellent teas to make during a potato fast.
6
Utilize an internal bath or enema at the end of your fast to help clear your colon of toxins.
7
Break your fast by adding fruits and vegetables to your diet of potatoes for a full day before introducing other foods.
When it comes to weight loss, diet recommendations come from everywhere. Weeding through them takes considerable work. You must search out the truth, debunk the myths and choose a plan that works for you. The tomato soup diet is one alternative. Before you try it, though, you need to know what it is and what sort of results you can expect.
The Diet
The Tomato Soup Diet is a short-term diet plan based on the Souper Soup Diet, a diet plan introduced by author Lillie Ross. The diet is closely related to the cabbage soup diet and other soup-based diets.
The diet features unlimited quantities of tomato soup for most meals. The basic recipe calls for mixing equal parts canned tomato soup concentrate and water. Two cans of soup mixed with water produces six cups of soup. Homemade versions vary from one dieter to the next. Most of the homemade soups are based on combining ripe tomatoes with water and seasonings.
You are allowed to supplement the diet with other foods, like fruit, vegetables, chicken and beef, but the soup is the main component of most meals. A sample menu for the Souper Soup Diet--http://www.lillieross.com/soup/soupmenu.html--provides information on foods you can use to supplement your tomato soup diet.
The Results
The Tomato Soup Diet brings results. After all, tomato soup is low in calories and has nearly no fat content. Also, soup fills the stomach. The Mayo Clinic says foods that are dense make you feel full faster than less dense foods, even if the dense foods pack fewer calories.
In just one week, many dieters lose 10 to 15 pounds on the Tomato Soup Diet. The weight loss, though, is not tied to any unique properties of the soup. Instead, weight loss is a result of limited calorie consumption. Some dieters report regaining lost weight after stopping the diet. This sometimes results from binge eating following this highly restrictive diet.
While only a short-term option, the Tomato Soup Diet might be a viable option for someone seeking quick weight loss. For example, a boxer might try it as a means of making weight for a fight. You also might use it to help tame eating habits before beginning a long-term healthy diet.
Considerations
Based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recommendations for daily eating, the Tomato Soup Diet lacks sufficient nutrients, such as protein and calcium, which are necessary for a healthy lifestyle. While it might work as a short-term solution, it does not represent a smart choice for prolonged dieting. Restricting nutrients can lead to the loss of muscle mass and bone density. The Tomato Soup Diet also can result in fatigue and has the potential to bring about health problems if dieters stay on the plan for more than a week or two.
The American Dietetic Association calls soup diets a fad. It says no diet based on a single food can reverse weight gain from inactivity or overeating. The association recommends consulting a dietitian for help with weight loss.
The 3 Day Diet is a very specific food plan that must be followed
precisely. Portions must be eaten exactly as specified
and dieters are warned not to overeat -- otherwise the promised 10 pound weight loss may not be achieved. Likewise, dieters should not under-eat, even if they are not hungry. The detailed plan does not mention or recommend any exercise.
The 3 Day Diet meal plan:
Day 1
Breakfast
Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets Sweet & Low or Equal
1/2 grapefruit or juice
1 piece toast with 1 tablespoon peanut butter
Lunch
1/2 cup tuna
1 piece toast
Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets Sweet & Low or Equal
Dinner
3 ounces any lean meat or chicken
1 cup green beans
1 cup carrots
1 apple
1 cup regular vanilla ice cream
Day 2
Breakfast
Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets Sweet & Low or Equal
1 egg
1/2 banana
1 piece toast
Lunch
1 cup cottage cheese or tuna
8 regular saltine crackers
Dinner
2 beef franks
1 cup broccoli or cabbage
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 banana
1/2 cup regular vanilla ice cream
Day 3
Breakfast
Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets Sweet & Low or Equal
5 regular saltine crackers
1 ounce cheddar cheese
1 apple
Lunch
Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets Sweet & Low or Equal
1 boiled egg
1 piece toast
Dinner
1 cup tuna
1 cup carrots
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup melon
1/2 cup regular vanilla ice cream
In addition to its strict daily food prescription, dieters drink 4 cups of water or noncaloric drinks daily.
Achieving healthy hair is much easier with a few essential guidelines. The following are five of the most basic healthy hair tips that can help you get softer, more manageable hair:
1) Be gentle when using heat on your hair. Heat-styling is shine-killer, so whenever possible, allow hair to air dry naturally. If air drying is not an option, set your styling tools on a low setting. If you can let your hair partially air dry, you can at least eliminate a large portion of the heat styling, which will be that much better for your hair.
2) Limit the use of hair sprays and gels containing alcohol. These products will ultimately leave your hair dry and brittle. Anti-frizz serum is a great alternative to gel. The serum will smooth your hair and leave it shiny and manageable.
3) Avoid shampooing your hair every day. Shampoo strips away natural oils from the scalp, robbing your hair of shine. Ideally, hair should be washed every 3 days or so, depending on how dry or oily your hair tends to be. Brush hair every day to distribute the natural oils to the ends of you hair.
4) Utilize natural hair remedies. For example, extra virgin olive oil can work miracles on dry, unruly hair. Adding a few drops to your normal conditioner will leave your hair silky smooth. Olive oil can also be used on clean, damp hair as a serum. Simply rub a few drops between your palms, and apply to you hair before styling.
5) Deep conditioning is one of the most effective hair care tips to keep hair healthy. To dramatically improve the look and feel of your hair, use a deep conditioner once a week. Avoid rinsing with hot water if possible. Instead, rinse with cool water to seal the hair cuticle and improve shine. A deep conditioner helps to protect your hair, keep it flexible and strong so that you have less breakage in between treatments.
These tips for healthy hair can be adjusted depending on your hair’s unique type, texture, and style. Nurture your hair, and the payoff will be healthy, shiny locks that you can be proud of.
Having healthy and long hair is the dream of everyone. However, lengthening hair is a difficult process. No matter how careful you are, your hair does not grow fast and problems may occur during this period. You want long and strong hair, but you do not know what to do. Here some tips and ways for hair lengthening:
Natural Ways for Hair Lengthening
It is a well known truth that trimming contributes the fast growing of your hair. With this way, split ends of hair go away and the case does not grow. If you do not pay attention to split ending hair, each hair split further. Your hair keeps on growing. But, it is weak and unhealthy. So you think that your hair does not grow at all. Briefly, trim your hair regularly.
There are some home made recipes for healthy hair lengthening. They are easy and useful. Washing your hair with tea is a common way for hair. Just add some boiled tea to your bathing water, brush your hair and clean. It gives brightness and strength to hair.
Another home made solution for hair lengthening is a mixture of black seed, sesame and egg yolk. Mix all these and apply to your hair. Then clean hair with warm water. This is a way that can be applied once in a week. Mixture of black mulberry, egg and sesame oil is a natural way helping to hair growing. Apply this mixture to your hair every other day. Besides all these, it is a well known fact that almond oil is very effective on hair. If preparing all these mixture is difficult for you, just use almond oil. Brush your hair with oil and then clean.
There are indirect ways that contributes to the growing of hair. These are healthy diet, consumption of fresh fruit and vegetable, water, regular and adequate sleeping. Leading a life without stress is also essential. If you are stressful, the hormones affect hair content and growing. In addition to that, smoking affects hair lengthening negatively. Do not smoke. The things made by hairdresser can make your hair look beautiful. But, these things can also give damage to your hair. The more you use such ways, the more your hair is damaged. So do not use such ways very frequently.
Other Ways for Hair Lengthening
There are many cosmetic productions for hair lengthening. Whether they are useful or not is still debatable. However, people use them. There are shampoos and conditioners used for this purpose. You can find a production suitable for you. Brushing is a way for healthy hair lengthening. You may wonder what the relationship is between brushing and hair growing. However, there is a close relationship. If the brush you use is not suitable for your hair, it is in vain to try lengthening your hair. Be careful about your brush choice. Choose a soft and well designed brush. Otherwise, it gives damage to your hair.
There are some other artificial ways to make your hair long. If you do not want to wait for your hair growing, if there is a special event and you want to have long hair in this event, you can use hair apparatus. They are available in every hair store. Just choose a similar one to your normal hair and use it. Transplant techniques, such as punch grafts, mini-grafts, micro-grafts, slit grafts, and strip grafts are generally performed on patients who desire a more modest change in hair fullness. Flaps, tissue-expansion and scalp-reduction are procedures that are usually more appropriate for patients who desire a more dramatic change.
Remember, there are limits to what can be accomplished. An individual with very little hair might not be advised to undergo hair replacement surgery.
Make every day a good hair day with these tips for maintaining, styling, and genuinely appreciating the hair you have.
Caring for normal hair
If your hair isn't dry or oily or damaged by chemical treatments, consider yourself lucky. "Normal hair usually means a healthier scalp," says New York City hairstylist Julie Lin.
Maintenance: You can wash your hair up to five times a week if needed. "A basic shampoo and conditioner, even a two-in-one, is fine," says Marianne O'Donoghue, an associate professor of dermatology at Rush Medical Center, in Chicago. You don't want to disrupt the hair's natural balance by using products for dryness or an oily scalp.
Styling: It's OK to blow-dry every time you wash, but use a heat-protection product and keep the dryer moving along the hair to avoid burning, says Johnny Lavoy, owner of the Moda Rey Salon & Spa, in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Common misconception: If you have normal hair, it can't be damaged. In reality, normal hair should be treated as a fine washable, like lingerie or a cashmere sweater.
What's to love: You can experiment with styling products -- which means you can pick something just because it smells good. Real Simple: How to wash your hair
RS picks for normal hair
• Joico Daily Care Balancing Shampoo delivers basic, gentle cleansing.
• Warren Tricomi Protect Pre-Dry Calming Serum shields hair from the damaging effects of a blow-dryer or a flat or curling iron.
Sun, a dry climate, abuse from hot dryers and irons, and heredity can all contribute to dry hair. "But as with your nails, which are also made of keratin, you can restore moisture to hair," says dermatologist Marianne O'Donoghue.
Maintenance: Shampoo twice a week, using products containing moisturizing ingredients, like panthenol and ceramides. Condition after every shampoo. "Hair can absorb only so much conditioner, so don't feel the need to slather it on," says Amanda B. Once a month, use a deep-conditioning mask.
Styling: Try to minimize the use of hot styling tools. When you do blow- dry, straighten, or curl, apply a silicone-based cream or serum to tame frizz, promote shine, and shield the hair from heat.
What’s the secret? Is there something in the waters of the River Seine? Do the French have a genetic advantage over the rest of us when it comes to staying slim? Seemingly the French are able to regularly dine on fine wines, cheese, and chocolate without gaining weight or suffering from the health maladies commonly associated with being overweight. In his recent book The French Diet, diet expert Michel Montignac explains the secret of why the French don’t get fat and offers a plausible, enjoyable—and permanent—weight loss solution to those of us battling our own ever-expanding waist-lines. Thanks to Michel for chatting with us.
Much of your diet theory involves the glycemic index. How is the glycemic index key to the French Diet? Calorie intake is not responsible for fat storage. If we put on weight it is not because we eat too much but because we eat wrongly. The nature of the food we eat stimulates metabolic reactions leading to fat storage instead of fat burning. Although this applies to all food categories, the choice of carbohydrates is particularly decisive. This is why the glycemic index is the key of the French Diet since it is the best way to choose the appropriate food.
What link do you see between the French Diet and type 2 diabetes? Obesity and type 2 diabetes are both caused by hyperinsulinism, which is a chronic and excessive secretion of insulin. Consequently, the French Diet not only leads to weight loss but also to a decreased risk of diabetes.
The French Diet does not emphasize reducing caloric intake. Why? During the last 50 years, Western countries have reduced their daily calorie intake by 35%. Paradoxically, obesity rates have increased by 400% during this same period.
These statistics prove that low-calorie diets are a total failure. Low-calorie-diets actually slow down the metabolism. This reduced basal metabolic rate leaves the body vulnerable to rapid and excess weight gain once the person comes off the low-calorie diet.
You spend a lot of time discussing the merits of “good” versus “bad” carbs. How do you differentiate between them? Bad carbs are those whose metabolization stimulates insulin secretion, which in turn leads to fat storage rather than fat burning. Bad carbs are high glycemic index foods, such as potatoes, sugar or white flour.
Conversely, good carbs are those whose metabolization lowers insulin production, which in turn prevents fat storage and activates fat burning. Good carbs are fruit, vegetables, al dente pasta, dry legumes and integral cereals.
Tell us briefly about the American Paradox. Americans are the only population in the world that:
Fixates on dieting.
Follows the most low-calorie/low-fat diets.
Exercises the most (2 to 3 times the rate of French people).
Consumes the most sugar substitutes.
Paradoxically, they also have the highest rate of obesity in the world—3 to 4 times higher than French people, who eat more and exercise less. All these details are proof that their dieting habits are totally misguided.
What ancillary benefits have people reported after trying the French Diet? By following the French Diet, people lose weight easily without deprivation; they decrease their risk of cardiovascular problems (e.g. high cholesterol, hypertension, triglycerides, etc.); and they lower their risk of contracting diabetes. In addition, they feel more physically fit.
You break the diet into two phases. What happens in Phase 1? Phase 2? Phase 1 is the rapid weight loss phase. In this phase, people eat normal quantities of food in balanced meals. However, their choice of foods is restricted low glycemic index ones (which have the smallest impact on insulin secretion). Once they have succeeded in losing weight, they can switch to the Phase 2, which is the weight control phase.
Phase 2 also limits food choices. However, the range of permitted foods is much wider. High glycemic index foods are permitable in Phase 2, provided that low glycemic index foods are also eaten during the same meal as compensation.
The book has nearly 100 pages of delicious French recipes. As the author, do you have any personal recommendations? These French recipes are very easy to follow. They are designed to teach people that it’s possible to lose weight while still enjoying good food.
What role does exercise have in the French Diet? The French Diet demonstrates to people that it is illusory to expect to lose weight by exercising more. For example, it would take 18 hours of non-stop jogging for a woman to loose 2 pounds.
However, this does not mean that the French Diet advocates forgetting about exercising. In general, exercise is good for health. It keeps lungs, heart and muscles in good shape. On top of that, it helps to regulate t insulin secretion. Consequently, fast walking is good enough. People do not need to jog for hours (as many of them do).
What differentiates the French Diet from the throng of diet plans currently on the bookshelf? Because there is no deprivation, the French Diet is not really a diet. It is more a lifestyle. It is designed not only to aid weight loss in the short term, but also to help people maintain their weight loss long term by advocating healthy eating habits, which can also prevent illness and disease.
What is the single dumbest thing you see people eat in the modern diet? The dumbest thing people do is eat fast-food, processed food, and drink soda. The fact is that it has been scientifically proven—and broadcasted everywhere—that these are the true causes of major diseases in more than one third of the American population, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Let’s play a little word association. I’ll give you a word and you tell us what you think about it as it relates to a healthy diet.
Wine: Red wine is healthy because of its high polyphenols.
Organic food: It is healthy because there are no pesticides or preservatives. But we must be aware that this is not enough. If a high glycemic index food is organic, it remains dangerous (as far as metabolic diseases are concerned).
Pasta: It is healthy, but only if it is made out of durum (hard) wheat and cooked al dente.
Cheese: Cheese is okay—in reasonable quantities. However, be careful with fresh dairy products (especially milk) because they contain whey/lactoserum, which triggers a critical insulin secretion.
Oils: Olive oil remains the best oil to consume. Avoid refined oils.
Dessert: T he best desserts are those made with high cocoa-content chocolate (at least 70%), without sugar, flour or butter.
What are your thoughts on the “obesity epidemic” which seems to be spreading across the Western world? The “obesity epidemic” is caused by the globalization of American food eating habits.
Not only does it impact the Western countries but the whole world. Countries which are especially impacted are those that have developed their own eating models for millennia, such as Japan, China and India.
Best part of being the author of the latest best selling diet book: It may be the latest best selling diet book in the United States only because the Montignac method has been a best seller in more than 40 countries for over 20 years. However, being successful in the U.S. is always rewarding for a French author.
Did you know that the human brain starts slowing down as early as age 30? The good news is that you can speed it up, and improve even your most basic cognitive abilities at any age.
Keep your brain performing at its best with Lumosity, a brain training program consisting of engaging brain games and exercises developed by some of the leading neuroscientists in the country.
What are the benefits of brain training? The ACTIVE study, funded by NIH, demonstrated that adults can improve cognitive abilities such as memory, processing speed, and reasoning with proper training. The brain is healthiest when it is active and regularly challenged. With frequent cognitive training, the brain performs optimally and maintains its abilities through the years.
In addition to improvements in working memory and attention, Lumosity users have also reported increased alertness and energy, improved ability to remember names and numbers, better concentration, and elevated mood.
Who can benefit from Lumosity? Adults of any age who want to improve brain performance or maximize brain health can benefit from Lumosity brain games. Our proprietary adaptive difficulty algorithms tailor and adjust the training to the user’s skill level.
University researchers are currently testing the efficacy of Lumosity exercises in children and various specific patient populations.
What is the science behind the program? The Lumosity brain training program was designed and developed on the basis of existing cognitive training research that emerges from the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to physically reorganize itself in response to the demands placed upon it. The exercises in Lumosity are designed to stimulate the brain plasticity that leads to improved cognitive ability and a healthier brain.
Improve Memory, Speed and Attention: It can be a challenge to store and retrieve all the information we need to remember, even if it is just for a short period of time. One of the most important types of memory is known as working memory, which is used for temporarily storing and manipulating information. Working memory is critical in many cognitive processes including reasoning, problem solving and language.
Processing speed determines how quickly one can perceive and interpret information, and then begin to act appropriately. Processing speed is considered by some to be a bottleneck to other cognitive processes, and it is therefore a focus of Lumosity training.
The ability to selectively concentrate on the most important information allows us to follow a conversation, drive safely, and efficiently attend to the task at hand.
Cognitive control, also known as executive processing, refers to a set of high-level processes such as decision-making, planning, and suppressing inappropriate behavior. Cognitive control helps align thought and behavior with intentions.
What does the program consist of? Lumosity consists of a series of engaging online games and exercises. Each exercise is designed to improve a particular area of cognition. You can follow a guided 30 session complete brain fitness course, or you can take charge of your training and directly train the areas that need the most work. You’ll receive detailed information and feedback on your training and improvement.
You can get a 14 days free trial on their website to try the program for yourself.
The secret to a healthy body is simple and actually not too difficult, but all the same it does take daily discipline. In addition, it doesn’t need to cost you a lot of money. There are five areas of focus that will keep your body in shape, healthy, flexible, and strong. This article will outline the 5 areas to work on and will include a sample weekly workout regimen that you can start using today.
1. Aerobic Exercise. The simplest way to meet this need is walking. Walking is the one of the best exercises for your body. The wear and tear on your joints is lower than jogging. Be sure to start off slower to warm up and increase speed slowly after about 3-5 minutes. To increase the intensity, simply lengthen your stride a bit and speed up your pace. The other strategy for increasing intensity is to increase your speed for short bursts of time. (see workout below) If you prefer, jogging is also good if it doesn’t bother your knees. Just know that walking is just as good if you go fast enough. No big investment needed. All you need is your sneakers, and maybe not even that if you walk on the beach. 30 minutes per day every day has been shown to be the optimal amount of exercise. If you don’t have time all at once, the same benefits are derived even if you break it up into 3 X 10 minute or 2 X 15 minute sessions.
2. Stretching. An important age marker is your level of flexibility. Yoga is a terrific way to keep your body flexible. If you don’t have time for a full yoga session, try to make sure you do 5 minutes of stretching each day after your aerobic exercise. To ensure you get most areas of your body, try a sun salutation, some seated twists, and a hip opener.
3. Balancing. Balance, along with flexibility, is something that we lose with age. Practice this a little bit every day and you’ll be less likely to lose it. Yoga, again, is another great way to build and maintain balance. There are several yoga poses you could use to increase balance. Try one each day. A simple one you can do is to stand on one leg and grab the foot of the other leg to stretch the hamstring in the front of the thigh. As you build your balance over time try to touch your toes with your other hand while maintaining balance. It is helpful to keep your eyes focused on one point. Do this for 15-60 seconds on each leg.
4. Strength Building. You can certainly join a gym and lift weights. But another less expensive option, which is just as good, is simply using the weight of your own body for resistance. The easiest way to do this is to do an hour of yoga a few times per week. A yoga class is great, but to save money, I recommend buying a few different yoga tapes and rotate them. Check out tapes from your local library first to see if you like them before buying, or go to Amazon and check out the reviews to find ones that are highly rated. If you don’t want to do yoga, you can do pilates or try the free online workout regimen prescribed by Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz of “YOU: The Owner’s Manual.”
5. Deep Breathing. This is very important and here’s why. Your lymph system relies on the contraction of muscles and breathing to move the fluids of the lymph system around the body. Why is this so important? The lymph system “has three interrelated functions: (1) removal of excess fluids from body tissues, (2) absorption of fatty acids and subsequent transport of fat, as chyle, to the circulatory system and, (3) production of immune cells.” So, how do you get your daily dose? Aerobic exercise, yoga, and/or try The Deep Breathing Exercise 2-3 times per day. Here’s how:
The best six doctors anywhere And no one can deny it Are sunshine, water, rest, and air Exercise and diet. These six will gladly you attend If only you are willing Your mind they'll ease Your will they'll mend And charge you not a shilling. ~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990
The past two weeks here in the Delmarva area have been nothing but hot and humid with little to no cloud cover. I could complain about it, but this is what I looked forward too when just 5 months ago my car was covered in ice and snow. So I welcome the images of sand, beach, pools, BBQ's, and cool drinks with little umbrella's in them.
And with the change in weather comes a change in footwear. Very rarely will you see me wearing anything but flip flops from June straight through September. When making the switch, there's always a week to two week period when my feet have to get used to the fact that there's not as much cushion when walking around anymore. I have to develop my "Summer Soles" as I call them.
Surely most of you have heard of or read the book, Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall and his experience with an ancient tribe that is able to run incredible distances with no injuries while running barefoot or with thin-soled sandals. Chris hypothesizes that wearing cushioned running shoes may be a big contributor to running injury, and since then we have seen a surge in marketing from companies like Nike and Reebok for shoes that mimic barefoot running.
But why is it good to run, (or do anything for that matter) barefoot? Well there's a couple of things. But the biggest one, as Harry Clay explains in THIS T-Nation article, is proprioception. For most of us, our feet are the only point of contact with the different surfaces we walk on, so to develop good movement patterns our feet should have a good sense of where they are in space. Wearing cushioned cross trainer's creates a disconnection between your foot and floor, and over time we lose strength in the ligaments and muscles in our feet because of it. Walking, running or lifting barefoot allows your feet to really grip the surface you're on, creating better overall balance and strength.
All that being said, I wouldn't just dump all my sneakers in a trash can, set them on fire and go run a marathon barefoot. You have to take it in stages. Yes the ancient tribe that McDougall describes runs over 100 miles at a time with no shoes and experiences zero injuries; but I'm also fairly confident that the members of those tribes rarely spend 8 hours a day at a desk and enjoy a Big Mac at least once a week.
In my opinion the best way to start going barefoot is at the gym. Now, most gyms won't let you workout barefoot, but if you pick up some thinly soled shoes such as Chuck Taylor's, Vibram's or Reebok's ReelFlex, it should be the next best thing. You will notice a huge difference in doing exercises such as squats, dead lift, and lunges barefoot. Your foot will be able to grip the floor better, and you can really develop the musculature of your posterior chain better by pushing your heals directly into the ground on these exercises, instead of pushing through a cushioned heal lift that your sneakers provide.
You will most likely experience some soreness, just as you would when starting any new exercise program. However, if you are willing and physically able, try lifting barefoot at your gym. It's a more controlled environment than running outside, and I think you will really enjoy the added benefits it can give you.
