Preliminary Health Care Podcast

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-sleep-affects-your-eating-behavior.html Poor sleep has powerful implications on eating behavior, generally favoring your seeking and consuming highly pleasurable junk foods. Watch the video to understand how/why this happens, then download the Sleep eBook to improve you own sleep. Link to story: http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/ways-lack-of-sleep-can-affect-your-diet/ss-BBh9T89#image=1 Link to Sleep eBook: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/p/sleep_31.html Link to Eating Behavior eBook: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/p/behavior.html Link to Weight Loss eBook: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/p/fat-loss-html.html

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/breathing-to-reduce-anxietystress.html Simple breathing techniques can powerfully reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. This article gives a brief overview "proper breathing." I hope to provide a bit of insight and encourage you to try it. Link to story: http://www.details.com/body-health/exercise/201404/how-to-breathe-right-vranich-breathing-exercise?mbid=synd_foxhealth Link to Stress eBook: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/p/stress.html Link to Sapolsky Stress Book: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Zebras-Dont-Ulcers-Stress-Related-ebook/dp/B0037NX018/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419523795&sr=1-1&keywords=why+zebras+don%27t+get+ulcers

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/weight-lifting-reduces-belly-fat.html A recent study demonstrates that weight lifting is more effective than cardio exercise at reducing weight. This result, however, is not unexpected because of how each mode of exercise affects the functioning of fat cells. Watch the video to learn more. Link to story: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287400.php Link to Exercise eBook: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/p/exercise.html Link to Weight Loss eBook: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/p/fat-loss-html.html

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/cholesterol-meds-on-rise.html The use of "statins," a type of cholesterol lowering medication, have been on the rise; 28% of people over the age of 40 have used these medications in the past month. Cholesterol has long been accused of causing cardiovascular disease. However, EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN TOLD ABOUT CHOLESTEROL IS WRONG. (Watch the video to learn more.) Use of statins comes with several side effects, many of which exacerbate the potential for cardiovascular disease. Link to story: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/12/24/use-cholesterol-lowering-meds-on-rise/

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/ereaders-hurting-your-sleep.html Exposure to light (especially light of the blue spectrum) acts as a signal to your brain to keep you awake; conversely, dim light triggers the release of the sleep hormone called "melatonin." Electronic-screen devices are particularly rich in bright, blue-spectrum light. A recent study demonstrated the detrimental effects of these devices on sleep by asking participants to read either a book in either paper form or electronic-screen form. Those who used an electronic device demonstrated worse suppressed melatonin release, reduced quality of sleep, and decreased alertness the following day. To improve your sleep (link to eBook), it is best to eliminate electronic-screen viewing several hours before bed. If you read before bed, it is best to read from a paper book or a kindle eReader (which only reflects ambient light). You may also consider downloading a program called f.lux to your screen devices, which adjusts the s

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/good-carb-bad-carb-questioned.html The "Glycemic Index" was devised as a way of helping people control blood sugar levels. This would be most beneficial for people with diabetes, but has become simplified to "good carbs" and "bad carbs." The good/bad carbs concept has since been applied to related topics such as weight loss. While the Glycemic Index does seem to have a sound theoretical basis, the many nuances of everyday life severely limit it's usefulness.

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/supplement-lies.html It should come as no surprise that a supplement manufacturer would try to cheat you. The incentives behind drugs and medication are the same...to make you believe you are an inherently feeble creature in need of their synthetic product. When this drives decisions, you must expect those same entities to skirt ethicacy for profit. Ask yourself: do you believe you are inherently unhealthy? Then ask, "why am I buying these products?"

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/weight-loss-news-extravaganza.html We have a whole slew of weight loss news items today. First, a bit of biochemistry to explain the actual chemical processes which use fat as fuel. Then: Should obesity be considered a disability? We might find an answer to this, but first we need to set the scene with an accurate understanding of body-fat regulation; as is, we incorrectly think of being overweight as a choice...to realize it's NOT, though, negates all common arguments around this topic. The next story demonstrates another repercussion of this misunderstanding, linking acceptance to weight loss and "fat shaming" to weight gain. Lastly, a pair of stories highlighting some of the health risks associated with being overweight; these stories take on a different context and urgency when you understand that we've been told wrong about how to lose weight.

Hello Reader, I'm writing this post as it marks a change in direction for Preliminary Health Care, a change I hope is more perfectly aligned with my vision. It is of my sincerest beliefs, that Health is a birthright to all of us--a birthright that is being stripped from us by perverse financial incentives. For example: food producers are NOT necessarily incentivized to provide us with healthy food options, but rather to make us believe they offer something healthy regardless of the truth; drug companies are not incentivized to cure our most common health conditions (such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.), but rather to convince us these conditions are incurable and must be managed with drugs--drugs which actually allow the condition to slowly progress and create new problems...all of which are further treated with more drugs; supplement manufacturers are not incentivized to offer effective products, but rather to make you believe they offer effective products; most health-informa

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-often-should-you-eat-part-5.html Because of the complex nature of this topic, I’ve broken it down into 5 parts, this being the final: the first installment was meant to raise your suspicions about traditional advice, after which were posts addressing the effects of eating frequency on fat loss, muscle mass, and aging & longevity. Here we’ll discuss how to create a metabolism capable of “Infrequent Eating.” If you’re reading this post, I’ll assume you’ve read at least one of the previous posts on eating frequency (and its effects on fat loss, muscle mass, and/or aging & longevity), and are now curious as to how you can implement “infrequent eating” (IE) into your own life. There are several possible variations of IE, but I advocate eating a single meal at the end of each day because doing so can synchronizes your circadian rhythm to allow for more productive days and restful nights (read post 1 if you need some explanation here). However, regar

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/ Because of the complex nature of this topic, I’ve broken it down into 5 parts: the first installment is meant to raise your suspicions about traditional advice; here we’ll focus on the effect of eating frequency on aging, longevity, and age-related diseases. Previous posts dealt with fat loss and muscle mass. The final installment will discuss how to create a metabolism capable of “Infrequent Eating.” In the previous post on how eating frequency affects muscle mass, I made the case that muscle must undergo periods of both growth (anabolism) and breakdown (catabolism). In actuality, though, the same can be said for every cell in your body--if you want to achieve a long & healthy life. You may be familiar with protein as a nutrient in foods like meat and eggs; however, nearly everything you think of as your body (hair, skin, organs, muscles, etc.) is made from specific types of proteins; hair protein is different than skin protein is different than the typ

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-often-should-you-eat-part-3-muscle.html Because of the complex nature of this topic, I’ve broken it down into 5 parts: the first installment is meant to raise your suspicions about traditional advice; here we’ll focus on the effect of eating frequency on muscle mass. The previous post dealt with fat loss, and later posts are on muscle mass and health & longevity. The final installment will discuss how to create a metabolism capable of “Infrequent Eating.” You may be familiar with protein as a nutrient in foods like meat and eggs. Besides that, nearly everything you think of as your body (hair, skin, organs, muscles, etc.) is made from specific types of proteins; hair protein is different than skin protein is different than the types of protein in your muscles. Proteins are made from smaller building blocks called “amino acids,” which are linked together; there are about 20 important amino acids—depending on the specific order in which they are

Because of the complex nature of this topic, I’ve broken it down into 5 parts: the first installment is meant to raise your suspicions about traditional advice; here we’ll focus on fat loss, and later posts are on muscle mass and health & longevity. The final installment will discuss how to create a metabolism capable of “Infrequent Eating.” Ever notice the paradox in fat-loss advice? On one hand, you’re supposed to eat less—but on the other, you’re supposed to eat often to “keep your metabolism up.” I’ve dispelled the call to eat less in other posts (read the free preview of my Fat Loss eBook for a thorough understanding of this point), but what about the second point—does eating frequently favor weight loss? This question needs to be approached from a few different angles: Does eating frequently accelerate your metabolism? Does eating infrequently slow your metabolism? How does a “fast” or “slow” metabolism affect fat loss? Does Eating Frequently Accelerate Your Metabolism?

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-often-should-you-eat-part-1-raising.html Because of the complex nature of this topic, I’ve broken it down into 5 parts: this installment is meant to raise your suspicions about traditional advice, followed by installments focused on fat loss, muscle mass, and health & longevity. The final installment will discuss how to create a metabolism capable of “Infrequent Eating.” How often do you eat? How often do you think you should eat? I don’t know the answer to the first, but I’ll bet the second answer is something like 5-6 small meals each day, or every 3 hours. Okay, next question: Why should you eat this often? Your answer is probably along the lines of to keep my metabolism up, or to make sure my body builds muscle rather than devours it. And why shouldn’t we believe these recommendations? They’re spouted by virtually all public health and fitness authorities. But like so many recommendations, these too are conceived in only a narrow perspective

Read Full Post at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-often-should-you-eat-part-2-fat-loss.html Because of the complex nature of this topic, I’ve broken it down into 5 parts: the first installment (http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-often-should-you-eat-part-1-raising.html) is meant to raise your suspicions about traditional advice; here we’ll focus on fat loss, and later posts are on muscle mass and health & longevity. The final installment will discuss how to create a metabolism capable of “Infrequent Eating.” Ever notice the paradox in fat-loss advice? On one hand, you’re supposed to eat less—but on the other, you’re supposed to eat often to “keep your metabolism up.” I’ve dispelled the call to eat less in other posts (read the free preview of my Fat Loss eBook for a thorough understanding of this point (http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/p/fat-loss-html.html)), but what about the second point—does eating frequently favor weight loss? This question needs to

More at http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-key-ingredient-for-bigger-muscles.html There is certainly no shortage of ready-made training programs promising you bigger muscles; the huge number of such programs, though, seems suspicious. Sure, you can compare any 2 programs and find all sorts of differences in “training variables” (weight, reps, sets, rest periods, frequency, exercise selection, exercise order, etc.), but let’s be honest—without understanding what causes muscles to grow, the only thing separating these programs is how they’re hyped and marketed. After all, if we know how these training variables make muscles bigger, shouldn’t most programs be more or less the same? Wait, do we know how these training variables make muscles grow? If you’ve tried to figure this out with information created for laymen, the answer is almost definitely “no.” But that’s not to say that experts in the field are much closer! As somebody who routinely digs through the scientific journals on this stuf

Why is Blood-Sugar Important? Your body is made of nearly 100 trillion cells! One thing that they all have in common is a constant demand for fuel, of which there are 4 major types: • Sugar • Fat • Ketones (made from fat when fat is being burned rapidly) • Protein (amino acids) Most cells of your body are able to use each and are not dependent on any particular fuel-type. Further, most cells of your body are able to store fuel, and replenish those stores with fuel circulating within your blood-stream. However, neither of these statements can be said for certain cells of your Nervous System or Red Blood Cells—which require at least some sugar and cannot store fuel. Thus, these cells require steady access to sugar from your blood i.e. “blood-sugar.” High Blood-Sugar is Harmful Even though your body must maintain some level of blood-sugar for your Nervous System, too much is very harmful. Diabetes is simply a state of chronically elevated blood-sugar; the health-problems associated with diabetes (like damage to

More at: http://preliminaryhealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/11/when-you-blame-calories-you-blame.htm We’ve heard it to the point that we accept it without questioning: “It’s all about calories-in v calories-out. If you wanna lose weight, you have to eat less and exercise more.” The first problem with these sentiments, though, are that they are absolutely FALSE! Of course, this should be concerning because it means we’re all using incorrect information to try improving ourselves. But there’s another big reason to be concerned. Namely: When you incorrectly make being overweight about calories, you unjustly blame victims of such terrible information. Think about it: we believe so strongly that becoming fatter is from “overeating” and “under-exercising,” but what do these terms even mean? We define them based solely on the body-composition of the person to which we’re referring: how ever much a fat person is eating we call “too much,” and how ever much they exercise is “too little.” Ask yourself, if a fatter person

More at: preliminaryhealthcare.com This article is not about clever means of being thrifty at the supermarket. No. Instead, I want to discuss a subject that few probably think about—how our natural eating-behaviors impact our grocery bill. Home-Ec 101: When buying groceries, you should find bargains. You normally prepare a few eggs for breakfas, but egg prices have been going up and your local grocery store has bulk breakfast cereal on sale; $3.74 would feed you an egg breakfast for four days, but you can get 7 days of cereal for only 2.75. This seems like a no-brainer. You buy the cereal instead of the eggs, and have a bowl the next morning before going to work. You hadn’t really noticed it until now, but you usually feel pretty good in the mornings—you probably wouldn’t notice you if it weren’t for the fact that now, at only 9:30 am, you’re sluggish and getting kind of hungry. Hungry? You’re never hungry this soon after breakfast. In fact, many days you even forget to eat lunch. How could you be hungry?

Food, “Food,” & Drugs The following is adapted from our free Nutritional Basics eBook. We tend to think about food in simplistic terms, like “calories,” “good for you, bad for you,” or “how much (insert nutrient here) is in it.” In reality, though, food is a symphony of signals playing to your body more strikingly than any drug. You cannot understand nutrition in these simple terms, but must rather appreciate that each element of a food combines and interacts with your body as to be greater than its sum. Not that this is a, overly-complicated thought, but food is so fundamental to the human experience that it rarely evokes any thought that is not oversimplified. If we lived in a less synthesized world, oversimplification would be fine because we would be immersed in an environment to which our brains and bodies were perfectly suited. We wouldn’t have to worry about “is this good for me?” because our own instinctual and reflexive drives would only allow us to eat non-harmful and healthy items. But alas, we’