New The 5 Truths about Dieting and Deadly Food Conspiracies!

Hi Health & Fitness Friends,

This is nutrition week at Fitness Elements Express...

...and we're going to kick it off with a nutrition interview that
you are either going to love or hate.

Why?

Because some people have bought into too much scaremongering...so
nutrition expert and former supplement researcher and Sports Nutrition store owner me Natalie Pyles and Marianne Candice
cover 5 "nutritional sacred cows" in a fun interview:

- Organic Meat
- Aspartame
- Cooking with microwave ovens
- the 3 worst foods you can eat
- the truth about diet and longevity
- Bonus: You'll get Natalie's advice for living a long, healthy life

You'll find it all here:

www.http://intelligiblenutrition.blogspot.com/
Let me know what you think and post your comment on the blog. We've
already got a few controversial replies and the controversial
opinions are being thrown around. Nutrition is a hot, hot topic!

Personally, I think Natalie's simple approach to nutrition is exactly
what the world needs.

Instead of creating even more "issues with food" that nutrition
scaremongerers seem to do, Natalie does the exact opposite and tells us
what we really are able to control.

Check it out and let me know what you think,

Fitness Elements, Medical Exercise Specialist, Health, Fitness, and Weight loss expert, Nutrition specialist

PS - Natalie's diet program has been proven to help men and women win
the Fitness Elements Training Transformation Contest.

Each winner from the first 3 Transformation Contests used Natalie's
simple fat loss diet program.

1st Contest Winner - Sue Johnson
2nd Contest Winner - Catherine Giadonna
3rd Contest Winner - Hollyl Empson

In fact, Fitness Elements diet is so good, I even use it on the weekend. Yep, all
you need to do is follow his program once per week to lose fat.

If you want to win the F.E. Transformation contest and lose 20-30 pounds of fat, visit
Natalie's site to learn more about his simple and easy to follow diet
program here:

www.http://intelligiblenutrition.blogspot.com/

Stop using Hydroxycut products, FDA says

Why These things happen when You go for the Quick Fix!

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hydroxycut products, popular dietary supplements used for weight loss, have been linked to liver damage and are being recalled, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
The FDA has received 23 reports of serious liver injuries, including a death, linked to Hydroxycut products.

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious liver injuries, including a death, linked to Hydroxycut products.

The FDA said it has received 23 reports of serious liver injuries linked to Hydroxycut products, which are also used as energy enhancers and as fat burners.

The reports include the 2007 death of a 19-year-old man living in the Southwest, which was reported to the FDA in March. Other serious liver problems reported included liver damage that resulted in a transplant in 2002, liver failure, jaundice, seizures and cardiovascular problems.

The FDA is warning consumers to immediately stop using 14 Hydroxycut products manufactured by Iovate Health Sciences Inc. of Oakville, Ontario, and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, New York.

The company is voluntarily recalling the following products: Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets, Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets, Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets, Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets, Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix), Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Liquid Shots, Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink), Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed, Hydroxycut 24, Hydroxycut Carb Control and Hydroxycut Natural. Video Watch more on the FDA's concern »

According to the FDA, last year, Iovate sold more than 9 million units of Hydroxycut products, which were distributed widely to grocery stores, health food stores and pharmacies.
Health Library

* MayoClinic.com: Nutrition in a pill?
* MayoClinic.com: Before you buy herbal supplements

"The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risks. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they experience symptoms possibly associated with these products," said Dr. Linda Katz, interim chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Liver damage is rare, but patients who experienced problems were taking doses recommended on the product label, the FDA said. Symptoms include brown urine, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, stomach pain, itching and light-colored stools.

The FDA has not determined what specific ingredients are responsible for the problems, because the products contain a variety of overlapping ingredients and herbal extracts.

Dietary supplements sold before October 1994 are not required to undergo any FDA review before going to market. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 required manufacturers to ensure a supplement to be safe before marketing. But manufacturers still don't need to register a product with the FDA or get approval before selling a supplement.

The agency can take action against an unsafe supplement once it's on the market. Since December 2007, any serious adverse event reported to the manufacturer must now be reported to the FDA within 15 days.
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The Council for Responsible Nutrition, the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement industry, said that both the FDA and Iovate "took appropriate action today."

"We commend FDA for warning consumers of a potential safety problem associated with these products, and were encouraged to see that the company -- Iovate Health Sciences -- agreed to recall the products from the market until further determinations can be made," said Steve Mister, the council's president and CEO.

References: CNN.com News

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

P.S. Call for your FREE Metabolic assessment & Nutritional Consultation today 480-212-1947 or visit www.myfitnesselements.com or fax request 623-399-4199

The dish on fish and mercury: How healthy is your catch?

(CNN) -- Every week, Jackie Kaminer of Roswell, Georgia, buys fish for dinner at the local market. Although she knows it's full of nutrients -- including good-for-your-heart omega-3 fatty acids -- she's careful of the types of fish she brings home.
Jackie Kaminer contemplates fish choices; she buys only "safe" fish, like salmon, haddock and tilapia.

Jackie Kaminer contemplates fish choices; she buys only "safe" fish, like salmon, haddock and tilapia.

Her concern? Mercury and the dangers it poses to her children. So, she sticks to certain varieties: salmon, cod, tilapia and haddock are "safe fish," but she stays away from swordfish, sea bass and tuna.

As a mother of three, Kaminer should be concerned. Released into the atmosphere by industrial pollution, mercury contaminates water systems (and soil) when it rains. As fish feed on one another, the mercury stores up in their bodies.

The toxic metal affects the nervous system. And although studies have shown large amounts of mercury can also affect fertility and blood pressure, and possibly cause memory loss in adults, it's particularly dangerous to young children and fetuses.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, during the first several years of life, a child's brain is still developing and absorbing nutrients. Prenatal and infant mercury exposure can cause poor mental development, cerebral palsy, deafness and blindness. Even in low doses, mercury may affect a child's development, delaying walking and talking, shortening attention span and causing learning disabilities.
Don't Miss

* Chesapeake Bay gets a 'D' on annual report
* How to buy the best fish

Having mercury levels that are too high isn't someone else's problem. In a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of 17 women of childbearing age in the United States has mercury in her blood above the level that could pose a risk to a developing fetus (5.8 micrograms per liter). So the federal government advises pregnant women and those thinking of becoming pregnant to avoid certain fish, such as shark, swordfish and fresh tuna, usually found in fish markets and sushi. Canned tuna seems to be less of a threat, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture says consumption should be limited.

Why avoid these kinds of fish? According to Andrew Heyes, a scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, the older and larger the fish, the more mercury it has stored. "As it grows older, it can't eliminate mercury as fast as it takes it in," he says. "So there's an accumulation in the fish." Video Watch more on fish and mercury »

Because mercury is a growing threat to us and our environment, companies have started to take mercury out of thermometers, switches and even batteries to prevent it from entering our soil. Now, many regions, like the Chesapeake Bay states of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, have instituted new rules to limit mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, one of the largest sources of mercury pollution in the region.

Researcher Cindy Gilmour, also with the SERC, says that is a positive development because mercury contamination is getting out of hand. "We've opened Pandora's Box and we've let that mercury out from where it was buried underground, into the atmosphere and into our soils and waterways," she says. "All that excess mercury causes problems, not just in people."
Health Library

* MayoClinic.com: Pregnancy and fish: What's too little -- or too much?
* MayoClinic.com: Omega-3 in fish: How eating fish helps your heart

In an effort to make sure these new regulations on mercury emissions are effective, scientists like Heyes and Gilmour are measuring levels of the toxic metal in watersheds near the bay.

Gilmour says the research is needed. "All those rules are starting to go into place, and we are starting to put those controls on our power plants. So what we want to find out here is whether those rules work and if the money we are investing in these technologies is really going to help," she says.
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As they monitor mercury, scientists are also learning more about how it behaves in nature. Gilmour says mercury contaminates more than just the soil and water. "Mercury has a large impact on all kinds of animals -- loons, amphibians, songbirds, are all affected," she says.

It will be several years before researchers know if the regulations are making a difference. Until then, health experts say enjoy fish -- it's good for you -- but be like Jackie Kaminer and pick your fish wisely.

Forwarded By, Natalie pyles

Fitness & Weight loss expert, Nutrition Specialist, Author, & NSA Speaker

P.S. Call for your FREE Nutritional Consultation today 480-212-1947 or FREE Grocery shopping tour and I will show you which fish to eat www.myfitnesselements.com

How this Soccer Pro helps others overcome Malaria

Soccer pro survives malaria, now helps others

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Saana Nyassi considers himself lucky.
Saana Nyassi is a player for the Seattle Sounders soccer team. He is also a malaria survivor.

Saana Nyassi is a player for the Seattle Sounders soccer team. He is also a malaria survivor.

He is fortunate not just because he has a natural talent for soccer and the dedication to rise through the ranks in his native Gambia and eventually go to the United States to play for the Seattle Sounders. Before leaving the tiny West African nation for America, Nyassi contracted malaria.

"It's a killer disease," the midfielder, 20, says. "You lose appetite. You are throwing up all the time. Your body gets warm. It's very serious."

Nyassi recovered. But nearly a million people -- mostly young children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa -- do not survive the disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.

On Saturday, before their game against the San Jose Earthquakes, Nyassi and his teammates will mark World Malaria Day by giving a check for $20,000 they raised for Nothing But Nets, a U.N. Foundation-sponsored campaign to supply anti-malarial bed nets to some of the poorest parts of the world. Video Watch how researchers are fighting malaria »

Nothing But Nets buys and delivers each bed net for about $10. The nets prevent mosquitoes from biting people while they sleep and passing on the parasite that causes malaria.

Even though malaria was been wiped out in the United States, it still rages in countries in Africa, Asia and other developing parts of the world.

"The challenge is enormous because of the size," says Dr. Regina Rabinovich, director of Infectious Diseases Development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which so far has dedicated over $1 billion to fighting and preventing malaria.

Rabinovich, who also contracted malaria during a visit to Gambia, says the Gates Foundation is waging a war against the disease on several fronts.

"Keeping people from getting bitten by a mosquito, that's what a bed net does," she says. "Not having the mosquito thrive, that's what insecticide does. By treating them, you keep someone else from being infected by another mosquito bite."
Don't Miss

While malaria can be treated, getting that treatment to people suffering from the disease who are often in remote places and with little access to health care is not always easy. There is no vaccine to prevent malaria. But Rabinovich argues that cases of malaria can be greatly reduced even before a vaccine is discovered.

"The really interesting thing about malaria is that they haven't depended on a magic silver bullet," she explains. "Bed nets protect you about half the time, spraying protects you. It's been the combination of prevention and treatment that's effective. When we have a malaria vaccine it will join that toolbox."

That malaria vaccine could potentially come from a temperature- and humidity-controlled vault nicknamed "the swamp" at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute. There, larvae imported from India are carefully hatched into mosquitoes.

Using funds from the Gates Foundation, Dr. Stefan Kappe is trying to genetically engineer the parasite that causes malaria and create a vaccine from it. With the vaccine that Kappe is working on, the malaria parasite would be unable to pass from the liver, where the parasites multiply, into the blood.

"We call this the 'you-can-check-in-but-cannot-check-out' approach," Kappe says. "The immune system learns [and] is trained to recognize it -- and when the real parasite comes in, the one that can infect you, your immune system is very quickly able to eliminate it."

If it is successful, the vaccine that Kappe is formulating will aim to prevent malaria every time it is administered -- a crucial element to fighting a disease that is passed from person to person by mosquito bites.
Health Library

* MayoClinic.com: Malaria

"You need to break transmission, you need to break the ability of the parasite to move to the mosquito and from the mosquito back to humans," he says. "This liver infection is a great place to attack. If you prevent infection right there, then humans don't become infected, the mosquito that bites them the next time can also not become infected and cannot bring the disease to another person."

The vaccine has already been proven effective 100 percent of the time in studies with mice, Kappe says. Now the researcher will begin human trials of a potential vaccine. Or, as he calls it, taking the difficult leap "from mice to men."

P.S. Call Fitness Elements for Your FREE Health and Fitness Evaluation today 480-212-1947 or fax request to 623-399-4199 or 1-800-681-9894

How fit are you? See how you measure up

(MayoClinic.com) You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But knowing the specifics can help you set fitness goals, monitor your progress and maintain your motivation. Once you know where you're starting from, you can plan where you want to go. And it's easier than you might think! Get started with the simple assessment guidelines below — based on guidelines provided by the President's Challenge, an activity program designed by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Don't Miss

Gather your tools

Generally, fitness is assessed in four key areas — aerobic fitness, muscular fitness, flexibility and body composition. To do your assessment, you'll need:

* A watch that can measure seconds or a stopwatch
* A cloth measuring tape
* A yardstick
* Heavy duty tape
* Someone to help you with the flexibility test

You'll also need a pencil or pen and paper to record your scores as you complete each part of the assessment. You can record your scores in a notebook or journal, or save them in a spreadsheet or another electronic format.

Record your fitness levels (PDF file requiring Adobe Reader)
Check your aerobic fitness: Brisk walk

To assess your aerobic fitness, take a brisk one-mile (1.6-kilometer) walk. You can do the walk anywhere — on a trail or track, inside a shopping mall or on a treadmill. Before and after the walk, check and record your pulse in your notebook or journal.

To check your pulse over your carotid artery, place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. To check your pulse at your wrist, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery — which is located on the thumb side of your wrist. When you feel your pulse, look at your watch and count the number of beats in 10 seconds. Multiply this number by 6 to get your heart rate per minute.

Let's say you count 15 beats in 10 seconds. Multiply 15 by 6 for a total of 90 beats per minute.

After you've recorded your pulse, note the time on your watch and walk one mile (1.6 kilometers). After you complete the walk, check your watch and record the time it took you to finish — in minutes and seconds — in your notebook or journal. Then check and record your pulse once more.
Measure muscular fitness: Push-ups

Push-ups can help you measure muscular strength. If you're just starting a fitness program, do modified push-ups on your knees. If you're already fit, do classic push-ups. For both types:

* Lie facedown on the floor with your elbows bent and your palms next to your shoulders.
* Keeping your back straight, push up with your arms until your arms are extended.
* Lower your body until your chest touches the floor.
* Push your body upward, returning to the starting position.

Count each time you return to the starting position as one push-up. Do as many push-ups as you can until you need to stop for rest. Record the number of push-ups you complete in your notebook or journal.
Assess your flexibility: Sit-and-reach test

The sit-and-reach test is a simple way to measure the flexibility of the backs of your legs, your hips and your lower back. Here's how:

* Place a yardstick on the floor. Secure it by placing a piece of tape across the yardstick at the 15-inch (38-centimeter) mark.
* Place the soles of your feet even with the mark on the yardstick.
* Ask a helper to place his or her hands on top of your knees to anchor them.
* Reach forward as far as you can, holding the position for two seconds.
* Note the distance you reached.
* Repeat the test two more times.
* Record the best of the three reaches.

Estimate your body composition: Waist circumference and body mass index

With a cloth measuring tape, measure your waist circumference at its smallest point — usually at the level of the navel. Record your waist circumference in inches or centimeters in your notebook or journal.

Then determine your body mass index (BMI) — an indicator of your percentage of body fat — through a BMI table or online calculator. If you'd rather do the math yourself, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and multiply by 703. Or divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. (To determine your height in meters, divide your height in centimeters by 100). Record your BMI with the rest of your scores in your notebook or journal.
Monitor your progress

Now that you know your fitness level, keep track of your progress. Take the same measurements six weeks after you begin your exercise program and periodically afterward. Each time you repeat your assessment, celebrate your progress — and adjust your fitness goals accordingly. Show the results to your doctor or personal trainer for additional guidance.

References:

©1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Call Me For Your FREE Fitness & Metabolic Consultation Today! 1-800-681-9894 or 480-212-1947 e-mail fitnesselementsassociates@yahoo.com

Why You need to be aware of Cancer risks?

End-of-Life Conversations Lower Costs, Improve Quality of Life

Advanced cancer patients who have end-of-life discussions with their doctors appear to have better quality of life in their final days and pay significantly less for that care, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The research is based on data from the ongoing Coping With Cancer study, a large multi-site study tracking the health of advanced cancer patients and their primary caregivers. It's being funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Cancer Institute, and incorporates work from several research centers, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Yale University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and the University of Texas Southwestern Cancer Centers.

For this study, Harvard researchers at Dana-Farber Institute interviewed 603 patients and found 188 had discussed end-of-life care with their doctors. They found those patients were less likely to use more intensive interventions, and as a result, had lower medical bills. In fact, health costs for patients who had end-of-life conversations with their doctors were estimated to be an average of 36% lower in the last week of life than for patients who didn't talk with their doctors.

There was no difference in survival or in psychological distress between the two groups. However, patients who didn't have end-of-life conversations with their doctors experienced more physical distress in the final week of life, as reported by nurses and caregivers.

"We refer to the end-of-life discussion as the multimillion-dollar conversation because it is associated with shifting costs away from expensive, burdensome, non-curative care, like being on a ventilator in an intensive care unit, to less costly comfort care provided at home or in hospice, which most patients and their families say they would prefer," said Holly G. Prigerson, PhD, of the Center for Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an author of the study.

Studies have shown that about one-third of Medicare expenditures in the last year of a person's life are spent in the last month. A high proportion of those costs come from life-sustaining procedures and care, such as ventilator use and resuscitation.

Promoting policies that increase communication between doctors and patients could lead to better quality-of-life and lower costs at the end-of-life for patients with advanced cancer, the researchers conclude.

In another study published in the same issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed data from 158,780 Medicare patients who died in 2001 and found that despite dying of similar causes, black and Hispanic patients appeared to have significantly higher end-of-life costs than white patients. Most of this was due to greater use of life-sustaining care and procedures. The researchers weren’t able to look at the reasons for these differences in the study.

"These reports help shed light on an important issue: differences between certain populations in end-of-life care, including lower rates of hospice use among certain populations," says Otis W. Brawley, MD, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. "But the issue here may not be about race as much as it is about economics and culture. People who do not have adequate access to health care often do not have an ongoing relationship with a specific doctor. Without a regular source of care, there's less opportunity to build a trusting relationship."

More research is needed, he says.

"These are important, intriguing findings, but it's important that other researchers replicate them before we draw further conclusions. Once that's done, we'll need to explore in more detail what factors may contribute and how. But this data clearly supports the need for further research."

For more information about end-of-life issues and concerns, see our document, Nearing the End of Life

Refernces: Amercican Cancer Society

Rebecca Viksnins Snowden


Call Me For Your FREE Wellness & Fit Consultation Today! 1-800-681-9894 or 480-212-1947 or e-mail fitnesselementsassociates@yahoo.com