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Could Your Coke Be Killing You?

The commercials tell us  "things go better with Coke"; unfortunately what they didn't tell us is that more things go wrong. A research study started in 1999 has concluded that soft drinks may cause cancer and a range of conditions associated with ageing and neurological diseases. Controversy over the health implications of imbibing soft drinks is nothing new, but the majority of recent studies have focused more on the issues of dental problems and obesity, the latest revelations may just reaffirm what we already thought, soft drinks are doing us harm.

Pickling your DNA

The research has shown that the effects of an additive to soft drink, Sodium Benzoate are damaging our DNA and specifically the mitochondrion. The Mitochondria are the energy power cells of our DNA that are responsible for generating most of our bodies cells Adinose Triphosphate (ATP) used as a source of chemical energy. Mitochondria are also responsible for cellular proliferation, steroid synthesis and programmed cell death (Apoptosis). Sodium Benzoate causes similar damage as would be seen in diseased states, like Parkinson's and other neurological conditions.

Premature ageing and soft drink

It's believed that the additives in some soft drinks and specifically Benzoate are causing degenerative changes usually associated with ageing. The additives are causing an increase in oxidative damage (free radicals), which we know are strongly tethered to the process of ageing.

With or without additives?

The findings may only be the thin edge of the wedge, with many additives being added to a plethora of foods packed on supermarket shelves and in our pantries, the recommendation from an eminent scientist was to avoid anything that had additives beginning with E.

Cocktail of additives

The next time you want to quench your thirst, it may be wise to opt for a bottle of water, replenishing lost fluid with a cocktail of chemicals not only adds extra calories to your diet but also hammers your DNA.

Preservatives prefixed with E and others
http://curezone.com/foods/enumbers.asp

Is China Poisoning the World?

China is the largest exporter of seafood, shellfish and it would seem contaminants. China exports 3.2 million tons of seafood, which is 10 % of the world's supply.  Along with seafood they also exports organochlorines like DDT and HCT - hexachlorocylohexane. DDT is a known carcinogen banned in 1983 due to its propensity to accumulate in the food chain, and predominantly in predatory animals and man.

Two heads are better than one

The old adage that two heads are better than one, doesn't hold true in this case, who wants to eat two headed fish. Most of the seafood product comes out of Guangdong province, which is a coastal city of China and has undergone exponential industrialization with subsequent environmental degradation.

Would you like chemicals with that?

High concentrations of HCH and DDT were found in shellfish and mollusks, particularly oysters, mussels and squid, the levels identified could cause cancer in humans.

Pet cemetery

Not content with trying to kill us with seafood now the Chinese have been implicated for killing US pets. The largest ever animal food recall in the US occurred recently with 14 pets found dead after eating pet food contaminated with melamine. Melamine is a chemical used to make plastics, another chemical found, cyanuric acid related to melamine and used for cleaning pools.

Getting your vitamins could be a risk

Vitamins destined for the US market were intercepted when they were found to contain Enterobacter sakozakii a bacteria known to cause death in infants. This particular batch of vitamin A was destined for the US market place in baby formula. The majority of the world's vitamins are produced in China, with 80% of the world's vitamin C coming from China and its efficacy is dubious. 

Dried fruit, seafood platter chemical cocktail

Dried apples coated in carcinogens, catfish laced with antibiotics, scallops and sardines garnished with putrefying bacteria finished off with mushrooms covered in illegal pesticides. Just some of the delicacies coming out of Mainland China.

Eating is now considered a health hazard

With the first world now in the grips of an obesity epidemic it would seem from the lack of quality of food coming out of China we may now need to add another risk to getting out three squares a day.

Train for Brain

"Train for Brain" is another cliché we can add to "Train for Gain".  It was recently discovered that not only does exercise improve your cardiovascular health and improve your chances of living longer, but also it will improve your mental ability and arrest or at least reduce age related memory loss.

There, on your head

Does this sound familiar? "Has any one seen my glasses? I know I put them on the table and now there gone" Hello they're on your head, fool!

How many times have you misplaced your keys only to find them in your back pocket or cooling in the fridge? Well, exercise appears to be the way to go if you don't want to find yourself becoming a forgetful, dithering old fool.  Brain function has been shown to start declining around 40 years of age, the positive is that studies have found, not only will exercise help reduce age related memory loss, but it also improves it. Sound too good to be true? Unfortunately, for the couch potatoes they haven't yet invented the smart pill, so you going need to get up off your arse to reap the rewards.

Heart and brain health both respond to exercise

The time frames needed for your gray matter to start benefiting from exercise are believed not to be that different than those applied to improving your cardiovascular health, preferably 30 minutes a day, and the type of exercise doesn't seem to really matter. Although it was revealed that strength training may provide additional benefit when done with cardio. Strength training is known to facilitate the production of hormones; eg HGH, testosterone etc and some of the hormones produced are believed to provide a protective factor for the brain.

How do you make a hormone?

So what are hormones? They are chemical messengers produced in the body to control our activites and bodily functions, they are responsible for muscle development, growth and maturation and immunity and we now believe ageing may be added to that list.

Weight training has been found to be beneficial for a number of physical and biological reasons, now we have one more reason added to the mix.

Weight training may have thrown our brains a life raft, but it's up to us to row.

Pump it up!!!!!!

How To Improve Your Golf With Weight Training

I don't know any golfer that doesn't want to improve the way they hit the ball, and driving the ball off the tee is a shore fire way to impress the peanut gallery.  But just how can you improve your distance off the tee?

Training the right muscles

Even professional golfers have personal trainers, but they too have found that weight training for golf requires specific exercise for specific muscle groups. Some golfers have found to their detriment that the exercise regime they have been doing rather than improving their swing is actually counterproductive. There have been instances where professional golfers have torn muscle, dislocated ribs, and injured their backs as a result of exercises designed for body builders rather than golfers. It's about time personal trainers realized sport like people need to be addressed individually.

No need for a lat spread on the tee

Golfers require functional muscle, having bulky muscles may look good in short sleeves and shorts whilst standing on the tee, but driving the ball into the ruff, shows it takes more than looks for a good swing.

The specific muscles needed for the golf swing are,

Forward swing

• Anterior deltoid
• Pectoralis major
• Subscapularis
• Posterior deltoid
• Supraspinatus
• Infraspinatus
• Latissimus dorsi

Swing acceleration

• Pectoralis major
• Subscapularis
• Infraspinatus
• Latissimus dorsi

Ask your trainer for specific training

For those golfers looking for the edge ask a trainer to design a program targeting these specific muscle groups and before you know it the next best balls you hit won't be in the sand trap after stepping on the rack.