The Perricone Diet is based on the principle that cellular inflammation is the cause of most health problems, including obesity. The diet is designed to reduce or eliminate inflammation in the body, thereby restoring health and returning the dieter to an appropriate and healthful weight.
Goals of the Perricone Diet
Nicholas Perricone is a doctor who has spent decades developing, refining, and improving his anti-inflammatory weight-loss program. When followed as directed, the diet promises to reduce bodily inflammation, encourage weight loss, maintain muscle mass, improve skin appearance, enhance mood, improve brain function, increase energy, and improve athletic ability while providing appropriate amounts of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
Three Steps to Better Health
There are three phases, or steps, in the Perricone plan. Step one is learning to include the “supergroup” foods in each day’s meal plan. Step two introduces important dietary supplements to facilitate weight loss. Step three is learning to follow the anti-inflammatory lifestyle that Dr. Perricone has developed. These steps are combined into a 14-day plan for weight loss.
Step One: Supergroup Foods
There are ten supergroup foods that should be incorporated:

Step Two: Superstar Supplements
There are twelve important nutrients to add to any dietary plan because they enhance health and ensure adequate nutrition, even during weight-loss efforts.

Step Three: The Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle
n addition to the important foods and supplements, there are lifestyle changes that must be made while following the Perricone Diet.

The 14-Day Plan

There are several guidelines to follow while implementing the 14-day weight loss plan:

• Every meal or snack must contain protein, essential fatty acids, and low-glycemic carbs.
• Eat protein first.
• Eat fruit at the end of the meal.
• Eat cold-water fish four to five times per week.
• Choose organic foods whenever possible.
• Eat raw when possible.
• Avoid foods containing sodium nitrite, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and chemical sweeteners.
• Avoid high-glycemic impact fruits, vegetables, and grains — opt for low-impact members of these food groups.

Good luck!

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Serves 4
2 Red Peppers
2 tbl.sp Olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 tblsp Tomato paste
750g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cups veg stock
1 handful basil, torn

1. Preheat oven to 180oC (360oF)
2. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish skin side up and drizzle with half the olive oil. Roast for 25 mins or until softened.
3. Remove from the oven, then cover with foil and allow to cool slightly. Peel off and discard skin and roughly chop flesh.
4. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft.
5. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 mins, stirring constantly. Add pepper, tomato and stock, then cover and simmer for 15 mins.
6. Allow to cool slightly, then puree using a blender or hand-held processor. Season to taste.
7. Reheat soup and serve sprinkled with basil.

My favorite soup ever!!!

THE world’s largest study of weight loss has shown diets do not work for the vast majority of slimmers and may even put lives at risk.

More than two-thirds pile the kilos straight back on, raising the danger of heart attack, stroke and diabetes.Researchers warned the strain this repeated weight loss and gain places on the body meant most people would have been better off not dieting at all.

The findings, published in the American Psychologist journal, follow other research released in 2004 that showed 2.5 million Australians had tried or intended to try a low-carb diet.

Last night, the US scientists behind the latest research – the most thorough and comprehensive analysis of its kind – said dieting simply did not work.

The University of California researchers analysed the results of more than 30 studies involving thousands of slimmers.

Although the overview did not name specific weight loss plans, popular diets in recent years include the low carbohydrate, high protein Atkins diet and the GI diet, which is rich in slow-burning wholegrain carbohydrates.

Pooling the results of the various studies clearly showed that, while people do lose weight initially, most quickly put all the weight back on.

In fact, most people end up weighing more than they did to begin with.

Researcher Dr Traci Mann said: “You can initially lost 5 per cent to 10 per cent of your weight on any number of diets.

“But after this honeymoon period, the weight comes back. We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more.”

Dr Mann’s research showed that up to two-thirds of dieters put on all the weight they lost – and more – over a four to five-year period.

Half of those taking part in one study were more than 5kg heavier five years later, while dieters taking part in another study actually ended up heavier than other volunteers who hadn’t tried to lose weight.

A four-year study into the health of 19,000 men revealed that most of those who put on weight had dieted in the years before the start of the study.

Bleak as these figures seem, the true picture could be even worse, as it is thought that most people lie about their weight and don’t like to tell researchers that their weight has started to creep up again.

Weight loss expert Dr Samantha Thomas from Monash University in Melbourne said Australian research supported the US findings.

“We’ve also seen that dieting can be linked to a lot of poor mental health outcomes,” she said.

“That just means that people take the weight off and feel really great about themselves and when they put the weight on again – which is kind of inevitable with yo-yo dieting – that people become depressed, have really low self esteem and feel even worse about themselves than when they went on the diet in the first place.”

Dr Thomas said people who struggled with their weight often became discouraged when, after embarking on fad diets, they found the results were not long-term.

“The really awful thing about dieting is that it’s become a cultural or fashionable thing and most people have spent lots of years and thousands of dollars on it, when there’s no evidence to suggest that there’s no long-term weight loss benefits,” she said.

Rebecca McPhee from Nutrition Australia agreed: “Dieting works in the short-term but it just encourages unhealthy behaviours in the long-term because it puts the body under so much strain.

“Everyone is time poor and they want results quickly, so they diet and then regain the weight after going back to eating normally.

“If you look at The Biggest Loser, for example, the contestants lose too much weight, far too quickly, and they haven’t developed the sort of skills to then go away and manage their diets.”

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Its historic moniker has been the “sport for a lifetime”. But is this really true? According to world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines, there is no doubt that tennis is one of the best sports for you to play.

Here are the facts:

1. People who participate in tennis 3 hours per week (at moderately vigorous intensity) cut their risk of death in half from any cause, according to physician Ralph Paffenbarger who studied over 10,000 people over a period of 20 years.

2. Tennis players scored higher in vigor, optimism and self-esteem while scoring lower in depression, anger, confusion, anxiety and tension than other athletes and non-athletes according to Dr. Joan Finn and colleagues at Southern Connecticut State University.

3. Since tennis requires alertness and tactical thinking, it may generate new connections between nerves in the brain and thus promote a lifetime of continuing development of the brain, reported scientists at the University of Illinois.

4. Tennis outperforms golf, inline skating and most other sports in developing positive personality characteristics according to Dr. Jim Gavin, author of The Exercise Habit.

5. Competitive tennis burns more calories than aerobics, inline skating, or cycling, according to studies on caloric expenditures.

With these results in mind, let’s take a look at 34 specific reasons why you should consider playing tennis regularly!

Physical Reasons to Play Tennis

Tennis helps your:

1. aerobic fitness by burning fat and improving your cardiovascular fitness and maintaining higher energy levels.

2. anaerobic fitness by offering short, intense bursts of activity during a point followed by rest which helps muscles use oxygen efficiently.

3. ability to accelerate by practice in sprinting, jumping and lunging to move quickly.

4. powerful first step by requiring anticipation, quick reaction time and explosion into action.

5. speed through a series of side-to-side and up and back sprints to chase the ball.

6. leg strength through hundreds of starts and stops which build stronger leg muscles.

7. general body coordination since you have to move into position and then adjust your upper body to hit the ball successfully.

8. gross motor control through court movement and ball-striking skills which require control of your large muscle groups.

9. fine motor control by the use of touch shots like angled volleys, drop shots and lobs.

10. agility by forcing you to change direction as many as 5 times in 10 seconds during a typical tennis point.

11. dynamic balance through hundreds of starts, stops, changes of direction and hitting on the run.

12. cross-training by offering a physically demanding sport that’s fun to play for athletes who are expert in other sports.

13. bone strength and density by strengthening bones of young players and helping prevent osteoporosis in older ones.

14. immune system through its conditioning effects which promote overall health, fitness and resistance to disease.

15. nutritional habits by eating appropriately before competition to enhance energy production and after competition to practice proper recovery methods.

16. eye-hand coordination because you constantly judge the timing between the on-coming ball and the proper contact point.

17. flexibility due to the constant stretching and maneuvering to return the ball toward your opponent.

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Consider how often you run and for how long.
It is important to consider how often you run, as in times per week, and how long each run is, as in minutes per run. Do not make the mistake of only considering what you are doing now, but also consider how often and long your runs will be in 4 months. In other words, if you are planning on adding more mileage in the next few months, you need to take that into consideration when buying your running shoes.

Most runners will fall into one of two categories:

You run no more than 30 minutes per day, no more than 3 days per week. If that’s the case, a regular pair of sneakers should be fine for you, especially if you are just starting out. You probably don’t need to buy new shoes unless you want to. In fact, what you have now is probably fine, so go run! However, if you have been running for a year (or more) or find yourself having trouble with injuries (shin splints, IT band, knee pain), you may want to go ahead and buy a good pair of running shoes.

You run no less than 30 minutes per day, 3 or more times per week. If you are running this often and this long, it is imperative that you have the right shoes for your foot type.

Now that you know if you need to buy running shoes, continue on to find out what type of foot you have.

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Benefits of Body Sculpting Training During Pregnancy and Rules of Safety
Research has determined that remaining active during pregnancy offers several benefits to the mother and to the future newborn as well. The key to reaping out such benefits is to adjust your exercise program in order to make it safe for yourself and your baby during this period and to keep in mind that the goal of exercising during this period is to maintain your present level of fitness, not to improve.

The benefits that exercise offers to expecting mothers include:

1. Speedier recovery after delivery.
2. Increased sense of well being and self esteem during and after pregnancy.
3. Less leg cramps.
4. Larger placenta which in turn provides an increased nutrient base for the baby.
5. Decrease the risk of excessive weight gain caused by an increase of fat storage.
6. Stronger lower back which in turn reduces the risk of lower back pains.
7. Boost in energy levels.
8. Decrease the likelihood of varicose veins.
9. Reduced chances of having a Caesarean birth.
10. Higher chances of achieving labor either a few days earlier or on time.
11. Exercise helps prepare the body for the stresses imposed by labor and delivery.

How Much Exercise is Okay?

The amount of exercise that mothers to be will be able to tolerate during these 9 months is directly related to how active they were before becoming pregnant.

If a woman has never exercised before in her life, this is not the time to start a full blown weight training and intense aerobics program. Starting a weight training program is very traumatic on the body. This is not the kind of stress that we want to put the body under at this time.

Just a Beginner? A sensible approach for someone who has never exercised before is to start a mild daily 20 to 30 minute aerobics program consisting of walking at a normal pace. Why walking? Because walking is one of the most natural and safest forms of exercise. At this time, it is crucial to choose exercises that do not result in a loss of balance since a fall during this period could prove to be fatal for both the mother and the baby. Therefore, aerobic activities such as aerobic dance, bench step classes, kickboxing aerobics, & roller blading are out of the question.

Precautions There are certain precautions that you will need to incorporate in your walking program in order to make it safe. Remembering that the goal during this period is to maintain, not to improve, your workout intensity should be mild to moderate. In other words, you should walk at a normal pace and should not attempt to push yourself. Pushing yourself will put undue stress in your body and will increase the chances of reaching two conditions that should be avoided at all times during pregnancy:

1. Your heart rate should never exceed 140 beats per minute. Therefore, be especially careful to monitor your heart rate during exercise. That can be easily done by counting the amount of times your heart beats in ten seconds while you are performing the activity and then multiplying that number by 6. This will give you the amount of beats per minute. In order to avoid your heart rate from going this high, walk at a normal pace.
2. Your body temperature should never exceed 100 degrees Farenheit (or 38 degrees Celsius). In order to avoid this, walk at a normal pace and choose a time and place where it is neither hot nor humid. Walking either early in the morning or in the late afternoons is the best time. Also, avoid wearing clothing that is too warm. If you rather walk indoors, do not use a motorized treadmill since it is easy to trip and fall while using these device, as it is the machine and not you the one that sets the pace. Instead, use the non-motorized models where you are the one that sets the pace. Other good forms of indoor exercises for expectant mothers are swimming and water walking.

Weight Training Safely During Pregnancy
If you have been weight training prior to becoming pregnant, then you may continue your weight training activities during pregnany as long as they are not activities that could result in a loss of balance and you lower your intensity to prevent an increased body temperature and heart rate. Again, the goal during this period is maintenance and not improvement. Therefore, don’t push yourself.

Women who weight training while pregnant should adhere to the following rules:

1. Increase your rest periods in between sets to two minutes in order to maintain a normal body temperature and a low pulse (below 140 beats).
2. Perform only 2 exercises per body part of 3 sets each.
3. In order to stay away from reaching muscular failure (point at which it becomes impossible to perform another repetition in good form) choose a weight that you can perform for 12-15 repetitions and perform 8-10 repetitions per set instead.

1. Eliminate exercises where you have to lay down flat in your back (such as flat dumbbell bench press) since this position can decrease blood flow to the uterus and therefore the baby.
2. Eliminate exercises that may cause a loss of balance such as lunges and squats. Instead, substitute them for exercises like seated leg curls and leg extensions. As a matter of fact, if you have access to machines, this is the perfect time to use them. Remember our previous discussions on the fact that we prefer to recommend free weights since our body is designed to operate on a three dimensional universe and machines lock us in a two dimensional one? During pregnancy, being locked in a two dimensional universe is a good thing since that would make the exercises safer and would eliminate the possibility of losing balance. Also, by using machines, secondary stabilizer muscles, such as abdominal and pelvic muscles, are not activated. This is a good thing as we don’t want to create any undue stress in these areas at this time. Another reason why machines are more desirable at this time is to prevent joint injuries. During pregnancy, a loosening of the joints occurs. This loosening allows ligaments and tendons to stretch in preparation for delivery. Because of this, there is a higher risk of incurring a soft tissue injury if free weights are used. If you choose to continue using free weights during this period, then remember to pay close attention to your exercise form and to choose your exercises carefully.
3. Eliminate the Abdominal exercise portion of your workout as we must avoid any exercise that may risk even mild abdominal trauma. In addition, avoid exercises where you have to lay down flat in your stomach. For instance, substitute lying leg curls, by either standing or seated leg curls.
4. Don’t hold your breath while exercising since by doing so, you can cut the oxygen supply to your baby.

The goal: Lean down Jennifer Garner’s athletic physique into that of a “Ninja-like superhero — silent, quick and graceful,” for her role in “Elektra.”

The workout: Ten-minute warm-up on the treadmill, followed by a “movement-prep” workout, including light stretching, leg swings, lunges and squats, created by trainer Valerie Waters. Garner alternated between a cardio workout and full-body circuit training. The cardio workout typically centered on about 30 minutes of interval training: running hard for two minutes, then one minute of walking, before picking up the pace.

When circuit training, Garner would combine a series of upper body, lower body and ab exercises. For example: a set of chest presses, followed by a set of lat pull-downs, squats and then crunches on a stability ball. She would complete the circuit three times with little rest, then follow with another series of exercises for the same muscles. After three more rotations through the circuit, Garner did some light stretching and was finished. Garner worked out 45 to 60 minutes a day, five or six days a week.

The signature move: Reverse lunges with a medicine ball to work legs, glutes and abs. Holding a 4-pound medicine ball in front of her, Garner would take a large step back with her left leg while bringing the ball down to her right hip. After eight repetitions, she would switch to the other side.

The diet: A combination of protein and carbohydrates every three hours, keeping a close eye on portion sizes. Garner’s breakfast typically included an egg-white omelet chock-full of vegetables, with a serving of fruit — ideally blueberries, says Waters. Other breakfast options were high-protein Kashi cereal with soy milk, or oatmeal mixed with protein powder.

Three hours after breakfast Garner had a mid-morning snack, such as an apple and almonds, or fruit with yogurt. Lunch was a salad with chicken, or a turkey wrap made with a whole wheat tortilla and vegetables. For dinner, she usually had chicken or fish, with more vegetables. Garner limited her starchy carbs, such as breads and pastas.

The results: Garner, is now long, lean, powerful — and tight: “This is the best body she’s ever had,” says Waters

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She says she doesn’t have a particular diet or food plan but she eats relatively lightly. Dinner is usually vegetables and chicken or fish. Lunch is a salad. Snacks are dried fruits. Breakfast can be cottage cheese and a peach or an omelet and fruit. She tries not to eat breads or sweets (other than chocolate). She tries to exercise every day for 45 minutes to one hour. She works out on either a treadmill and elliptical machine and she also does lunges and crunches and works on her shoulders, biceps and triceps.How much does Jessica Alba weigh? Apparently she is 5?7? and her weight is 127 pounds. She will be 25 years old this week. She was born on April 28th 1981.

She started her acting career when she was only 13 years old. Her parents didn’t have much money and she says everyone in her family was severely overweight so she started cooking her own meals when she was only twelve. Jessica Alba suffered from eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders and panic attacks when she was a teenager. At one point she was so seriously malnourished she weighed just over 100 pounds.

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It is gaining popularity in leaps and bounds and although I heard about this program way back in 2000, I never would have foreseen that it would one day be something that almost anyone in holistic and alternative living would know off AND actually use.It’s known as the Master Cleanser (aka Lemonade diet) and even R&B singer; Beyonce, is in on the program as she reportedly used the Lemonade fasting recipe to shed weight while filming the movie: Dreamgirls.

Nonetheless, I am of the firm belief that the author or maker of this recipe-the late Dr. Stanley Burroughs-never had any intentions of having this program being seen as a shortcut to a rapid weight loss. Quite the contrary, even though you will inevitably lose the pounds, the goal here is more for cleansing and detoxification, rather than just losing weight quickly or rapidly.

The Master Cleanse Reciepe

So without further ado, I share the Master Cleanse recipe with you so you too can try it out for yourself:

* 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice (approx. 1/2 lemon)

* 2 Tbsp genuine maple syrup (not maple flavored sugar syrup)

* 1/10 Tsp cayenne pepper (red pepper) or to taste

* Water, medium hot (spring or purified water)

Combine the juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper in a 10 oz. glass and fill with medium hot water. (Cold water may be used if preferred.) Use fresh lemons or limes only, never canned lemon or lime juice nor frozen lemonade or frozen juice. Use organic lemons when possible.

The author suggests that you drink a laxative tea both morning and night or use the salt water wash that he recommends in his program in the morning with the tea at night.

From my experience, the best tea to use will be the “Smooth Move Tea” and for the salt water wash, here are the guidelines:

Prepare a full quart of lukewarm water and add two level (rounded for the Canadian quart) teaspoons of uniodized sea salt. Do not use ordinary iodized salt as it will not work property.

Drink the entire quart of salt and water first thing in the morning. This must be taken on an empty stomach.

The salt and water will not separate but will stay intact and quickly and thoroughly wash the entire tract in about one hour.

Going off the Diet

Now, coming of the fast is also an important phase that should be approached with caution, I laughed out when I read that though Beyonce may have used this program, she reportedly went on a binge feast of junk food to gain her weight back.

Well, I don’t know if that is true, but if it was, that is a No, No!

That can be very dangerous and I am quite sure that even if she did, she would have been wise enough to have at least observe the steps provided in the program on how to prepare the body for solid food to avoid any hassles.

The steps are to drink fresh squeezed orange juice for a day or two after the master cleansing period and on the third morning, have some orange juice in the morning, a mono-meal of fruit in the afternoon and a salad (or preferably more fruit) in the evening.

Then on the fourth day, it is advised that a mucus-less or mucus poor diet (which consists of raw and/or properly cooked fruits, roots, leaves and occasional-less harmful whole grains, nuts and seeds…if desired) be adhered to for maintenance.

Also ensure that you:

1. Get as Much Fresh Air as possible.

2. Get as Much Rest as Possible

3. DON’T use microwaves…at all.

4. Avoid negative mass media and suggestions.

5. Don’t overexert yourself, at least not till you feel up to physical activities

6. Don’t break a fast with just any food…fruits are your best bet.

Well, Beyonce swore by it, Robin Quivers, Howard Stern’s long-suffering sidekick says it made her drop from 218 lbs to a svelte 145 pound-figure and I have tried it to success, so it does work.

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Using the Healthy Diet Pyramid
The Healthy Diet Pyramid is a guide, to help you plan and eat a well balanced diet each day. In general, you should select more food from the base of the pyramid (the carbohydrates), and less from the top of the pyramid (fats, oils, sugar, salt).

Rice and alternatives - Placed at the base of the Pyramid are rice, noodles, bread, pasta, cereals, porridge, lontong, chapati, naan, idli, thosai & biscuits. These foods are excellent sources of complex carbohydrates, vitamins & minerals & dietary fibre. You should consume at least five servings daily, preferably including one serving of wholegrain products.

Fruit - This group consists of fresh, dried, frozen, canned fruit and fruit juices. They are rich sources of vitamin A, C, potassium, fibre (excluding fruit juices) and flavonoids. Take two servings a day, especially the deeply or brightly (yellow, orange) coloured ones.

Vegetables - This group consists of leafy, non-leafy, cruciferous and root vegetables. They are rich sources of vitamins A, C, folic acid, minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium, fibre and phytochemicals. Take two servings a day and include one serving daily of dark green or yellow-orange vegetables.

Meat and alternatives - This group includes meat, poultry, fish, seafood, milk, milk products, nuts and seeds. These foods are excellent sources of protein, calcium, B-vitamins, iron and zinc. Take at least two servings a day.

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