Precision Nutrition offer!

December 2nd, 2009

EXTENDED UNTIL 31st DECEMBER 2009!

Precision Nutrition

Until midnight tonight (EST), the folks at Precision Nutrition are literally giving away a crazy offer!

Here’s what you get:

Precision Nutrition
Gourmet Nutrition v1
The Community Membership
1-Year of Results Tracker
Free Shipping to the US and Canada

So how much for all this?

$99 (approx. £60) !!!

Click here if you want to take advantage of this great offer!


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YouBars and YouShakes – DIY Protein Bars and Shakes

February 14th, 2009

Youbars

I just came across a really cool site:  DIY protein bars and shakes!

You can choose your own ingredients and even packaging (i.e. logos etc.) – how cool is that?!

Check it out!  I would write about it here, but the site is quite simple to navigate and I’d just copying and pasting as I have yet to try their products and hence can’t give a personal insight.

Adios!

AND NO I am not financially gaining anything from this, just thought I’d pass it on to my viewers, maybe I should signup for some affiliate program with them, hmmm…you got me thinking!  JOKE!  lol!


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Raw Honey in Belgium!

February 12th, 2009

Currently I’m in Belgium visiting some family and I came across an amazing shop and also learnt some very interesting information.

You guessed right, the shop was a honey shop!

And the information that I learnt was that all honey in Belgium is not pasteurised, apparently the pasterurisation of honey is not allowed in Belgium (by law).

Hence, all the honey in this shop was not pasteruised and I was one happy blogger :)

Apart from the various types of honey, the shop also sells various other items such as skin and body care products.

Click the pictures below to see what the shop looks like.

I’ll soon be selling some different types of Raw, Unfiltered, Cold Extracted, Unpasteurised Honey!

Keep tuned!

Do you know of any good shops/places where honey fanatics can purchase real, pure good honey?  If so, please leave a comment and let the rest of us know.



Cholesterol: What is it and what should your level be?

February 3rd, 2009

Cholesterol

This is a guest post by Monique Slater.

Basically, the lower the better!

Did you know 1 in 2 Australian Adults are affected by cholesterol!

What’s scary is that only 1 in 5 think they are affected.

But what exactly is cholesterol?

It can be so confusing especially when you hear about ‘good and bad cholesterol’ and then ‘total’ cholesterol – what is the difference?  Isn’t it all the same?

Cholesterol is a waxy substance which is found naturally in our blood – in fact it is made by our liver but we also receive a small amount from the food we eat. Without cholesterol our bodies could not perform a number of important body processes like making hormones and vitamin D. Having a low level of cholesterol our blood is natural and healthy but having a high cholesterol level can be dangerous. ‘Bad’ cholesterol gets stuck to the walls of blood vessels, making them harder and narrower so less blood can flow through and around the body. Eventually this spells big trouble for your heart, often leading to heart attack and stroke. ‘Good’ cholesterol on the other hand, takes cholesterol from body tissues back to the liver for re-processing and elimination.

To help keep your heart healthy it is important to keep your ‘bad’ cholesterol low (known as ‘LDL cholesterol’) and your ‘good’ cholesterol high (known as ‘HDL cholesterol’).

So what about total cholesterol?

Total cholesterol is a figure made up from the bad (LDL) and the good (HDL) cholesterol levels. The Heart Foundation recommends the cholesterol level for the general public is ideally should be below 5.5mmol/L or lower. For people at higher risk of heart problems, they suggest a cholesterol level of less than 4.0 mmo/l. Basically, the lower the better.

Cholesterol plaque

How do I lower my cholesterol?


Small changes to diet and lifestyle can make a big difference to your cholesterol level such as:

  • Avoiding ‘bad’ fats and/or reducing saturated fats, limiting other animal fats like cheese, cream, full cream milks and yoghurts and fatty meats. Choose lean meats and low fat dairy products instead. Also cutting down on biscuits, pastries and the like too.
  • Choosing ‘good’ fats. Replacing bad fats with polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as sunflower oil and polyunsaturated margarine spreads will have a positive effect on cholesterol levels.
  • Eating more vegetables – including 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables everyday and include wholegrain foods in your daily diet.
  • Having a healthy lifestyle by aiming for a healthy body weight, quitting smoking, including physical exercise.
  • Using a plant sterol margarine spread will also help lower cholesterol absorption.

I would urge you however, if you have any concerns about your cholesterol levels or heart health, your first point of contact should always be your GP. Some people have cholesterol levels that require medication as well as diet and lifestyle changes and your doctor will need to advise you. Keeping a nice close eye on your cholesterol levels is highly recommended because they change over time. Something I didn’t realize until recently was that when women go through menopause and their estrogen levels drop, their cholesterol increases! (but this is another topic!)

I would love to hear your comments and experiences. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s never to early or late to love your heart!



Blast from the Past!

November 29th, 2008

My site’s popularity has grown considerably, more than I ever expected and therefore I wanted to bring to light three of my most popular articles which some of you may miss if you land initially at the front page, here you go:

Honey and Water: Is it Really that Good?

Sugar Beverages: Drinks of Mass Destruction?

Milk: Good or Bad?

Hope you like :) Please feel free to add any comments, even to the 100+ comments on the Honey and Water: Is it Really that Good?, all comments are read and replied to ASAP so don’t delay!



Presidents!

November 28th, 2008

Presidents

 Source: http://www.pallian.com/



Precision Nutrition BLOG is finally here!

November 27th, 2008

Nutrition Precision Nutrition

If you know anything about precision nutrition and its founder John Berardi, then you at least know that their system of “precision nutrition” is very….precise!

They have launched a blog (finally!!!), a much needed tool to interact more closely with the public.

Check out their blog here!



POM Wonderful Review

November 11th, 2008

pom wonderful pomegranate

Yeah, that’s right!  I finally tried it!

Cut the long VERY short, the drink is not very tasty, though that doesn’t mean it is not palatable.

It’s somewhat of an acquired taste! (Queen’s English accent pleeeeeeeease!)

Some people have told me that it tastes like medicine and I can see what they mean.

So what are the ingredients?

100% Pomegranate juice from concentrate and natural flavourings.

Two things I don’t like very much:

  1. That it is from concentrate!
  2. What are the natural flavourings?!

I was quite shocked at the price.

Here (in the UK), it cost me £3.14 for a little less than 500ml, which is VERY expensive.

Would I buy it again?

Probably not, though the health benefits are very good!

Many other pomegranate drinks taste very good, though this is mostly down to the large sugar content!

I still have one more voucher, may use it and try the mango flavour ;)



Omega-3 Diet Linked to Lower Heart Disease Risk

November 3rd, 2008

Salmon

In yet another study showing the benefits of consuming foods high in Omega-3, Akira Sekikawa (MD) and colleagues found that rather than genetic factors contributing to the lower heart disease risk in Japan’s population, the actual Omega-3 content of Japanese diets may be responsible instead.

The study, cited in the August edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, involved 281 men living in Japan, 306 Caucasian American men and 281 Japanese-American men living in Hawaii.

The researchers conducted blood tests to measure total fatty acids and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Although the total fatty acid levels were similar amongst all three groups, the amount of fatty acids from fish consumption was twice as high among the Japanese men group as compared to both American groups.

The study also indicated that men living in Japan had significantly less atherosclerosis (plaque build up inside the arteries).

Dr. Sekikawa concluded that increasing the intake of Omega-3 fatty acids could “…have a very substantial impact on heart disease.”

Source: Sekikawa A., Curb J.D., Ueshima H., et al. Marine-derived n-3 fatty acids and atherosclerosis in Japanese, Japanese-American and white men: a cross-sectional study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2008 Aug., 52(6):417-424



POM Wonderful

November 1st, 2008

POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice

So I guess you must’ve seen the massive ad campaign being conducted by the ‘POM Wonderful’ company, especially here in the UK, if not, where have you been?!  To my knowledge, the drink is not new, it has been around for quite some time now, so why such a big campaign?  No idea.

What is ‘POM Wonderful’?  Simply…a pomegranate juice drink!

You’re probably wondering why I am writing about this drink?

Well, firstly beause it is a relevant topic to the site and secondly because I was contacted a few weeks ago by ‘POM Wonderful’ and kindly offered two free bottles to try for free!

Have I tried it yet? NO!

Will I try it? YES!

According to POM’s website, they are “…backed by $25 million in medical research.” (that’s a lot of backing!) and all the recent research and health claims about pomegranate juice and its benefits was conducted using no other than…that’s right…’POM Wonderful’ juice.

So what are some of the health benefits of this pomegranate juice?

Well it… 

Has shown to improve blood flow

Reduction in arterial plaque growth

Improved erections (see Pomegranate juice increases quality and quantity of Sperm!)

Improvement in prostate health

Very high in antioxidants and therefore has the ability to neutralise free radicals

Does the company do anything else?

I’m glad you asked.  Okay sorry for the rubbish humour, just pretend to laugh, ok?!  I mean please :)

Apart from the actual POM Wonderful juice, the company also has a selection of different flavoured teas and a special supplement (both in tablet and liquid form) for those who want a more convenient way to reap the benefits of pomegranate.

As soon as I get my free bottles, I shall let you know what I think.

Have you tried it?  Let us know your thoughts please :)