Here’s a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week.
Sorry 4 Hour Body Fanboys, Grapefruit is Not Bulletproof
Aww, I love grapefruit. If you eat grapefruit regularly, you really need to read this. Grapefruit has been shown to increase the likelihood of breast cancer in women and it slows your intestines ability to detox. It seems fine to have one every once in a while (2-3 weeks), but you don’t want to eat one everyday. Stupid scientific studies… 😉
The dietician who wrote this article agrees mostly with the paleo diet, but she disagrees with some of the specifics of the diet, such as avoiding grains and beans.
Should athletes abstain from drinking? Alcohol not water.
I’ve read lots of articles related to alcohol and fitness, but I’ve never heard anything about alcohol’s effects on recovery. Did you know that binge drinking can hurt your performance for several days after drinking?
My 30 Day Intermittent Fasting Challenge
This is a very detailed report on Srdjan Popovic’s experience with intermittent fasting for 30 days. I’ve never seen such a thorough account from a (mostly) beginner testing intermittent fasting for a long period of time. Very encouraging!
This article is full of great tips, but the best takeaways for me were the protein recommendations and the list of body care products. The protein recommendations are as follows: 0.36 grams per lb of weight for an average person, 0.55g per lb. for active people, and 0.68/lb to put on muscle. Any more protein than that is not beneficial. Studies from Pubmed are listed in the article if you want to review them. He also included a video showing how to make your own natural sunscreen.
Yes, You Can Dry Fruit in the Oven! How To Dry Fruit Without a Dehydrator
If you’re only dehydrating food a couple of times per year, or if you’re just getting into dehydrating food and you want to see if you like it, you might as well start by using your oven first. All you need to do is set your oven on the lowest heat possible and then let it sit for 6-8 hours. It’s not as efficient as a dehydrator, but it’ll get the job done.
B12 Deficiencies in Vegans? Not True!
READ THE COMMENTS FROM JACK NORRIS ON THIS ONE!!! This article is the perfect example of vegan misinformation you should be cautious of. The author of this article is sadly uneducated in vegan health, she disputes proven studies, and if you read her comments in the comment section, you’ll see that she has contempt for science and is unwilling to do the research necessary to prove her claims in the article she wrote. I’m glad Jack Norris chimed in to provide facts on supplementing with B12.
Baby Bumps And Barbells: How To Stay Fit When You’re Pregnant
If you’re pregnant, or know someone who is, show them this article. There’s no reason to be afraid of working out while pregnant, as long as your doctor gives you the green light. It can even help prevent common problems that overweight or sedentary women have. There are some awesome tips here on the types of training you should do in various stages of pregnancy and helpful information on healthy nutrition.
Foods that are healthier together
Did you know that if you eat adzuki beans with raspberries, the antioxidant power of both foods are increased by 45 percent? Of course you didn’t. Who would? Read this article to find out the healthy benefits of other food pairings.
If you’re craving to get a quick biceps/triceps workout in, try this one out. It’s quick and it looks fun!
This technique of slow breathing while running sounds really interesting. A lower heart rate and lower perceived exertion sounds very beneficial. I’ll be giving this a try on my next run.
Best Diets for Weight Loss Maintenance
An excellent review of three popular diets after weight loss. They looked at a low fat diet, a low glycemic index diet, and a low carb diet. Something most people will probably find interesting is that the low fat diet might not be the best diet after all. I would agree.
Turn a $20 Bottle of Balsamic Vinegar into a $50 Bottle of “Aged” Balsamic in Minutes
This is an awesome trick if you have a cheap bottle of balsamic laying around. I actually learned this from the chef at Bistro Elaia (The Anschutz Medical Campus – University of Colorado Denver) when I attended the Health and Fitness Bloggers Conference a couple of weeks ago.
This recipe and the one it’s modeled after both look really good. Now to veganify the recipe so that I can eat them too. It won’t be difficult.
Got Milk? You Don’t Need It – NYTimes.com
I’ve heard excuses from people who say “I’ve been drinking milk my whole life and I’ve never had any problems,” yet these same people suffer from inflammation, mucus issues, stomach problems and other things they don’t considering being a issue that might be caused by milk. Give it up and see how much better you feel.
What Science Really Says About the Paleo Diet – With Mat Lalonde
This is an excellent podcast about the specifics of the paleo diet. Chriss Kresser L.Ac and Mat LaLonde Ph.D discuss how the paleo diet is a good template and starting place for a healthy lifestyle, but LaLonde discusses why he thinks humans have evolved and why it’s totally fine for people to eat foods that aren’t in the paleo diet. The full transcript is included here too. I also noticed that someone in the comments section has created a page on their website featuring all sorts of great presentations from Mat LaLonde.