HerbScientist

Natural Health Views of a Research Scientist

Building Muscle As You Age – Exercise

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building muscle on the beach
Building muscle and maintaining lean body mass are considerably simpler than most people think. Popular workout programs and advice from trainers and so-called fitness gurus fail completely to consider the two most important aspects of effective strength training – i.e., time under load (TUL) and recovery time. Research on optimizing these variables shows that the most effective muscle building workouts are easier, faster, and safer than ever, for all ages. Strength training is crucial for overall health and longevity. Here is what you should know for doing it right. [Read more…]

Building Muscle As You Age – Supplements

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building muscle with supplementsBuilding muscle is not as difficult as most people think. Since maintaining adequate muscle mass is crucial for overall fitness and health, adopting the simplest and most effective ways to do so will be more likely to ensure your success.

Start out by forgetting about and ignoring the majority of what you’ve heard or done yourself for muscle building. Diet, exercise, and supplements can only be helpful if you know which foods, workouts, and nutrients are truly useful. Each of these is a topic by itself, so this post will focus on one of these categories: muscle building supplements.

By the way, the benefits of certain supplements diminish as you age. Here is what you should know. [Read more…]

Multivitamins – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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multivitaminsGood luck if you rely only on modern food for good health. No matter what you eat, your diet will be deficient in many, many nutrients. That means that your body will be, too.

Maybe your nutritional deficiencies will begin to show up in seemingly small health problems, or maybe they will show up in disastrous ones. The absolute certainty is that they will show up.

People in different cultures are famous for living to 100 years old in good health. The question is, why don’t more people do so? One part of the answer is, of course, poor nutrition. This is where multivitamins come in handy. They are the foundation for making up for modern nutrient-deficient foods.

The purpose of this article is to give you some ideas on what to look for when it comes to finding a good multivitamin supplement. Fortunately, there are some excellent ones on the market. Unfortunately, there is also plenty of absolute crap that you should avoid. [Read more…]

Heart Disease, Homocysteine Levels, and B-Vitamins

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homocysteine levels and heart diseaseHomocysteine levels, not cholesterol, are a critical risk factor for heart disease. Howeve, homocysteine isn’t the complete evil that it is made out to be. It is a naturally occurring amino acid that plays an important role in many aspects of good health. Chronically high homocysteine levels are the problem. [Read more…]

Foods That Speed Up Aging

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aging and grilled foodsEating is wonderful. Except when it isn’t. Such as when it exposes you to the monumentally dangerous substances that scientists call advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs speed up aging and underlie many degenerative diseases, including diabetes, atherosclerosis, chronic renal failure, Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, stroke, osteopenia, and generation of epithelial cancers.

Unfortunately, scientific jargon about AGEs has kept this all-important topic from becoming a popular subject on social media and at parties, picnics and family gatherings. We clearly need a new term that the public can understand and talk about intelligently.

Since AGEs represent oxidation gone amok, and since oxidation is a burning of sorts, I propose that we refer to AGEs as Burnt Crap in Foods (BCFs). There, isn’t that better? Now let’s delve into BCFs to see what they do, where they are, and how to minimize damage to your health from them. [Read more…]

When Food Looks Back at You – Fish Head Soup

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fish head soup and dennisWhy would anyone want to eat a fish head? If you aren’t too culturally isolated, you might be surprised by how good it can be. Besides, fish heads are a phenomenal health food, especially for brain health. Gee, who wouldn’t want that? My first experience cooking it was quite an adventure. Here are a few of my personal discoveries that you might benefit from when you make your first foray into this wonderful delicacy. [Read more…]

Achieving Fitness in Less Time

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tabata workout cyclingThe Tabata workout might just be what you are looking for when time is short. This is where science offers some good answers. Unfortunately, fitness trainers are generally clueless about the science of fitness. Most workouts are over done and cause more harm than good. What you really should know is the exercise ‘sweet spot’ – i.e., the frequency, intensity, and duration that provide optimal fitness. [Read more…]

Latest Federal Dietary Guidelines: Still a Nutrition Minefield

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federal dietary guidelinesYou will never be healthy by following the latest federal dietary guidelines. They are a mixed bag of advice – some good, some bad, some ugly. Although the feds purport to use scientific research as the basis for their guidelines, nothing could be further from the truth. Lobbyists for agribusiness have more sway than science. Let’s take a look at some of the highs and lows of the latest federal recommendations. [Read more…]