The Fitness Show is once again returning in 2019 for its 14th consecutive year running and brings together some of Australia’s biggest fitspo celebrity names, including fitness and wellness brands all under the one roof! The event promotes the latest in fitness education, technology, healthy foods, sports nutrition, group fitness and fitness apparel.
Nationally, Australia has a huge appetite for health and wellness, with research indicating that by 2022/23 the fitness industry revenue will grow by an annual 1.8% to $2.4 billion, currently at $2.2 billion.
Growing at equally staggering rates is also our inability to consume enough nutrition. Official figures show a huge 96% of all Australians eat less than half their recommended daily intake of vegetables an prefer to eat unhealthy options such as cakes, biscuits, take away, chocolate, soft drinks and alcohol.
So what is required to make that transformation into a healthy diet or take it even further to perhaps one day compete and be a world champion bodybuilder?
Introducing Multi State, National, International and World Champion Bodybuilder Kwame Duah who has completed a degree in Nutrition and Food Science, combines theory and practice when planning out his daily meals, allowing him to maintain his lean physique all year round.
Kwame has reaped the rewards of his hard work with not only having a healthy 323,300 followers on Instagram, but continues to build on his successful business by training others how to be healthy on the inside, as well as the outside.
Kwame, who resides in Adelaide, began competing in body builder competitions as a teenager in 2011, while also completing his degree and from there developed an online training program in real time that has helped his clients transform their lives. In 2014 he became the youngest natural body builder to achieve professional status with Muscle Mania and has featured in national and international magazines.
We asked the question, what does Kwame consume on a daily basis to remain competition ready, “Macros (energy or calories on the food) play a big role in my diet. I personally like to eat meals high in carbohydrates and protein, and lower in fat.”
Here is a breakdown of Kwame’s meals:
70-80% of whole foods with a variety of Macro sources.
Carbohydrates – Rice, sweet potato, brown pasta, quinoa and oats.
Kwame continued “I also ensure that I am getting my micro nutrients as they play an essential role in
overall health, muscle building, weight loss, and strength. Additional health foods like green tea, apple cider vinegar, and lemon water are also something I add to my daily routine. If I have a goal of losing weight and hunger strikes, I focus on having more calorie dilute foods that help to keep me fuller for longer.”
You can meet Kwame along with other successful bodybuilders and fitness influences at The Fitness Show Expo Friday, 12 April through to Sunday 14 April by booking your tickets online here.
The event is open to trade and general public from 10am-5pm daily at the International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. The Fitness Show will also be held in Brisbane and Melbourne. Check their website for details.
Mark Hyman, MD released his original series of 8 documentaries called “The Broken Brain.” In this series he interviews over 50 experts who explain the sweeping epidemic of broken brains, manifesting as anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder, even traumatic brain injury, and a host of other mental disorders.
Dr Hyman is one of the worlds most recognised functional medical practitioners and is also the Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic’s Centre for Functional Medicine, Founder of The Ultra Wellness Centre, and ten-time #1 New York Times Best-selling author.
The second docu-series aptly called “Broken Brain 2,” goes into even more details about the food, gut, heart and brain connection.
Subtle symptoms that can lead to broken brains poor memory, poor quality of sleep, difficulty with concentration, brain fog, etc. Even if you think you are healthy, you might be ignoring these signs and could improve and optimize your well-being through awareness and action.
He believes everything you do to your body; you do to your brain and other vital organs. That the body is an intricate designed and connective system:
“The epidemic of broken brains is not getting any better. Alzheimer’s disease will affect 30 percent (and some experts say 50 percent) of people over 85 years old. Psychiatric disorders affect 26 percent of our adult population or over 60 million Americans. These are just some of the statistics. It’s time we put a stop to this epidemic,” Dr Hyman states.
Below is an extract from the highlight reel of Broken Brain 2:
“How is it that over 26% of adults in America are suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder? Or that over the last decade depression rates rose 18% and now its estimated 322 million people around the WORLD suffer from depressive disorders? Almost 18% of Americans are affected by anxiety disorders and by all accounts – it’s on the rise especially in the younger generation. Something is very wrong here! With all the advancements in modern medicine, why are we still seeing a growing number of broken brains?
Every other part of the body affects the brain – our digestive health, hormonal health, they quality of our gut bacteria, the strength of our mitochondria, and our immune system all effects the brain. The brain and heart have always been connected and there’s constant messages being sent both ways, so as it turns out the heart is also a key player in how well the brain functions.
Depression is not necessarily a chemical imbalance, its caused by inflammation and any kind of systemic inflammation is going to affect every system in the body. There’s been numerous studies to show that when we’re eating a lot of refined carbohydrates and a lot of sugary foods, we’re at a much higher risk of depression and anxiety but were also able to see negative changes in the brain. We also know that we can ramp up the inflammatory process in our body by just eating one meal!
So often my patients ask me “how can I transform my health and wake up feeling good every single day?” I tell them it takes inspiration; it takes intention and practical tools that we can use every day. I’ve lead thousands of patients to a life of joy and vibrancy and I want this for you to. I want you to wake up every single morning and give your highest gifts to the world – we’re taking a hands-on approach to brain health and I know you’re going to love it!”
One element missing from most people’s diets is a bit of roughage to help with removing waste. Fiber is essential to normalise our digestive health, as it feeds the good bacteria in you GI tract, which assists beyond adequate bowel movements.
What most people don’t know is the ketogenic diet (or keto diet) has been practiced for more than nine decades since the 1920s. It is known for being a low carb, high fat diet, based on a solid understanding of physiology and nutrition science.
When you eat food that is high in carbohydrates the body will produce both glucose and insulin in the following manner:
Glucoseis the easiest and first molecule for your body to convert and use as energy
Insulinis also produced and is used to process the glucose in your bloodstream by taking it around the body.
Given glucose is the main source of energy, the body doesn’t tap into fats as an energy source and are therefore not stored. This means the higher your diet is in carbohydrates; the body will always go to glucose for its main source of energy rather than fat. When you lower the intake of carbs it forces the body into what is known as a state of ketosis.
Ketosis is there from when we’re born and are only able to feed from our mothers’ milk. It helps the body survive when food intake is minimal. When in ketosis, we produce what’s known as keytones, which assists in breaking down fat in the liver.
The main purpose of maintaining a keto diet is to force the body into a metabolic state through starvation of carbohydrates – NOT calories. When the body has a higher rate of fat than carbohydrates it will begin to burn ketones (fat) as opposed to glucose as the primary source of energy.
So by changing our “fuel source” (from sugar to keytones) the body remains energized. This assists greatly with our general health, weight loss and both physical and mental performance.
The keto diet has been successful for millions of people around the world as it specifically targets the, underlying causes of weight gain. Dr Axe explainshow this includes “hormonal imbalances, especially insulin resistance coupled with high blood sugar levels, and the cycle of restricting and “binging” on empty calories due to hunger that so many dieters struggle with. In fact, these are some of the direct benefits of the keto diet.”
Dr Axe continues, “Making that switch will place your body in a state of “ketosis,” when your body becomes a fat burner rather than a sugar burner. Fortunately, if you’re new to this type of eating plan, a keto diet for beginners, or keto basics, is surprising simple to follow. Here’s how to do the keto diet:
Reduce one’s carb intake.
Increase your consumption of healthy fats, which help create satiety.
Without glucose coursing through your body, it’s now forced to burn fat and produce ketones instead.
Once the blood levels of ketones rise to a certain point, you officially reach ketosis.
This state results in consistent, fairly quick weight loss until your body reaches a healthy and stable weight.”
Image credit: My Know Brainer
THE BENEFITS OF THE KETOGENIC DIET
In today’s video, Dr Axe (Doctor of Functional Medicine) has shared the benefits of a ketogenic diet. Ketogenic diets can actually help weight loss, cancer (as cancer feeds off sugar), and even Alzheimer’s disease. When you are on a ketogenic diet, you are putting your body into a state of ketosis, which means your body is burning fat for energy rather than carbohydrates. The ketogenic diet could be the best diet for fat loss, however he doesn't believe anyone should be on this diet for more than 3-6 months. The reason why this diet works so effectively is your body stops feeding on sugar and starts burning fat. The diet consists of about 80% fats, 10% carbohydrates, and 10% protein.
How Fasting can Improve your Health, Reverse Disease & Improve Mental Clarity
Fasting can trigger stem cell regeneration, as well as weight loss. It is also one of the oldest known dietary interventions and is still practiced is some of the world’s most ancient religions. Modern science also confirms it can have a profoundly beneficial influence on your health.
Dr. Jason Fung is a nephrologist (kidney specialist) with a thriving practice located in Canada, who has written a comprehensive, well researched and studied book on this topic.
The book provides easy-to-follow guidelines for fasting and addresses some of the most common myths and fears that the general public may have from implementing a fasting regimen.
One common myth with men is that fasting will lead to loss of muscle mass, and of course nobody wants that outcome. However, the book clearly describes the process of protein catabolism (metabolic pathways that break down molecules that are oxidized and released as energy or for other anabolic reactions), and details how your body actually decrease protein catabolism and increases growth hormones in response to fasting.
Most people associate fasting with decreased levels of energy, however it’s scientifically proven to be the opposite. If you're overweight and/or continually lethargic, fasting helps unlock all that energy trapped in your body that you previously had no access to. Fasting forces your body to start accessing those stores of energy, and once that happens, your body suddenly has a near unlimited supply of energy.
Understanding the Role of Insulin
Insulin is the primary hormone (followed by cortisol to a lesser degree) that tells your body whether to store energy or burn it. When you eat, you're taking calories in and insulin goes up and the body stores some as energy. When insulin falls (like when you sleep or fasting), it tells your body to release that insulin as energy.
We’ve been sold this idea where we think we need to eat small, more consistent meals a day it will help us lose weight and it doesn’t actually make sense. When you eat or assuming you eat a mix of macro nutrients, your sugar levels go up and tells our body to store some of that food energy.
When you don’t eat insulin falls (like sleeping), the body then pulls it back out what you’ve stored so you can burn it – so there’s a balance. When you eat you store food energy, when you don’t eat you burn food energy – balance the food and you won’t gain weight. Keep eating and it’s going to make you continue to put on weight.
From 1977 – 2004 we went from eating our basic mix of three main meals a day (protein, carbs and fats) to six smaller, but more frequent meals a day, which means we’re eating for longer periods during the day (about 14-15 hours of the day) and causes regular spikes in our insulin, fat storing levels.
Where as in 1977 we only ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, no snacks, that’s it – eating between a 10-hour period and fasting (sleeping) for 14 hours a day. Eating for longer periods is not giving our bodies the time it needs to burn the energy, which turns to fat. So if we want to lose weight, don’t eat high insulin foods and give your body the chance to not eat so your insulin levels can fall and you can burn it.
Below is an extract from one of Dr Fung’s Interviews on “The Complete Guide to Fasting”
“For people who are into athletics, for example, you might do some different fast. There’s something called training in the fasted state, which is becoming very popular, which is again about a 20-, 24-hour fast. Then you exercise, then you eat.
That sounds very strange, but physiologically, there’s a huge number of benefits because what happens is when your adrenaline goes up, your growth hormone goes up.
Those two hormones are considered part of the counter regulatory hormones. That is, they run counter to insulin, so insulin tends to lower blood glucose, noradrenaline or adrenaline, and growth hormone tend to raise blood glucose, so as your insulin falls, you have higher levels noradrenaline and growth hormone.
Now you exercise, and you can exercise harder than you’ve done before because you’re pumped up from all the adrenaline. Then as you eat, your growth hormone levels are high, so you recover faster. So train harder, recover faster. That’s a huge advantage if you’re talking about any athletics. It’s an advantage you can’t ignore. That’s merely from adjusting your timing.
Another advantage of fasting, for example, some people find they have much higher mental clarity. Again, people think, oh I don’t eat, I’m going to not be able to concentrate. It’s actually the exact opposite.
If you think about a time you’re eating a huge meal, like at Thanksgiving or something, you had that huge meal, you’re not really sharp, right? All you can do is kind of sit on the couch and watch football. That’s about it.
Whereas on the other hand, when you think about somebody and you say, “Oh that guy’s really hungry,” you know, he’s hungry for success, he’s hungry for power. Does that mean he’s just sitting on the couch watching TV? No, it means he’s energized and out there getting stuff. That’s what it means when you’re hungry. You don’t have all that blood kind of digesting food, so your brain is sharp. Some people really feel that.
There’s a whole group of people out in Silicon Valley who do this as a sort of a biohack, that is, they’re trying to hack themselves into a higher level of mental performance, not just athletic performance, but mental performance. What they do is they fast and guess what? You’re saving time because you don’t have to eat, you don’t have to shop, you don’t have to clean up, so you get more work done, but the work that you do is on a higher level than you used to do. That’s fantastic because that’s free. It’s like, okay, if you’re in a competition in Silicon Valley, a higher level of mental performance means a lot of money.
It’s the difference between success and failure. For these guys, they’re like, okay, they’re going to hack themselves into a higher level of performance, and that’s terrific.
Then there’s the story of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek mathematician, required his students to fast before they could come to class. All these ancient Greek thinkers actually did a lot of fasting. Socrates, Plato and all those famous scholars. They did it not because they were fat, they did it because they knew that it gave them more mental clarity. We still talk about the classic Greek philosophers, right, the great Greek mathematicians.
Then you can talk about things like cancer prevention, I know we touched on that briefly, but there’s people who feel, and the research is more shady here, that you can actually prevent cancers from developing because cancers need glucose, and what happens when you fast is that you kind of lock down all that glucose and you kind of starve them out. There are people who suggest that you can actually do this in combination with say ketogenic diets and actually help prevent cancers.”
Why you Shouldn’t Fear Fasting with Dave Asprey & Dr. Jason Fung
What do Jesus, The Prophet Mohammed, and Buddha have in common? They all practiced fasting. Dr. Jason Fung and author Jimmy Moore reveal the numerous benefits of fasting. A process that can help people lose weight, improve brain function, promote longevity, speed up the metabolism, strengthen the immune system, and contribute to self-enlightenment. Plus, they'll also address one of the main reasons most people have never attempted to fast. Fear.
We are all genetically unique and need to find a way of eating that matches our personal needs, but also considers the worlds ever-increasing toxic environment. Rather than waiting for disease to set in (reactionary), we should focus on preventive health care (proactive), and there are some basic guidelines we can follow to achieve and maintain optimal health. The goal is not to be perfect, but rather to have simple guiding principles to keep us healthy for years to come.
Dr. Mark Hyman is a popular American physician dedicated to tackling the cause of all chronic disease and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Centre for functional medicine. He is a ten-time #1 New Your Times best-selling author; “Eat Fat, Get Thin”, medical contributor on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, CNN and The Dr. Oz show. An internationally recognised leader, speaker, author and advocate in his field, he is also the founder of The Ultra Wellness Centre, medical editor of The Huffington Post and chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine. In short, he’s got all the right credentials.
Below are Dr Hyman’s top 12 principles for eating well:
1) Stay away from sugar. This means a diet low in anything that causes a spike in our insulin production--sugar, flour, & refined carbs.
Can sugar impact cancer risk? In a study completed at the University of Texas published in 2016, it found high amounts of sugar influenced enzymatic signalling pathways otherwise known as 12-LOX (12-lipoxygenase) that increases the risk of breast cancer.
2) Eat mostly plants. 70-80% of your diet should be from veggies, nuts & seeds. Stick with mostly non-starchy veggies; go easy on the potatoes.
3) Go easy on fruits. Eat 8-10 servings of fruit and veggies a day; only 2-3 should be fruit. It is easy to overindulge on grapes, pineapple & sugary fruits & forget about your veggies.
4) Stay away from toxins and inflammatory additives. Including foods that are non-organic and contain pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones, GMO foods, chemicals, food additives, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, dyes.
5) Eat healthy fats. Eat omega-3 fats from small wild fish, extra virgin olive oil, nuts & seeds, avocados, whole eggs, grass-fed meats, grass-fed butter or ghee, virgin coconut oil & MCT oil.
6) Stay away from refined oils processed with heat, solvents and deodorizers. This means almost all vegetable oils including canola, safflower, corn & especially soybean oil.
7) Avoid or limit dairy. Especially from modern dairy cows. If you want to eat some, stick with goat or sheep milk & cheese. Always go organic and grass-fed.
8) Meat should be a side dish. Think of meat and animal products as a condiment or “condi-meat.” Eat grass-fed & sustainably raised to avoid the health & environmental consequences of factory-farmed meat. Broth should be consumed if you have digestive issues, an inflammatory disease or leaky gut syndrome.
9) Eat sustainably farmed or harvested seafood that is low in mercury. Stick with what Dr Hyman refers to as wild SMASH fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring).
10) Avoid gluten. Modern wheat is not healthy. It has more starch, more gluten, is addictive and contains harmful preservatives.
11) Eat small amounts of gluten free grains. Especially less if you are overweight, have digestive problems or have an autoimmune disease.
If you’ve been searching for an affordable, multi-purpose carrier oil to keep in your medicine cabinet, castor oil is a strong contender.
What Exactly is Castor Oil?
It’s an unsaturated, triglyceride fatty oil (Omega-9) derived from the seeds of the castor bean plant (Ricinus Communis), where 90% of its own fatty acid content comes from a rare compound called ricinoleic acid. With a strong taste and translucent yellow in colour, it was used commonly in our parents and grandparents’ days as a natural remedy to relieve constipation.
Properties include:
Fatty acids
Flavonoids
Phenolic compounds
Amino acids
Terpenoids
Pytosterols
Aside from the strong taste, it’s unique compound of ricinoleic acid has led to its use in over 700 cosmetic products. This, combined with its beneficial salts and esters help stabilise the texture and consistency of external skin products and act as a skin-conditioning agent. Taken orally, the oil is broken down in the small intestine by the pancreatic enzymes, which in turn releases its beneficial compounds and metabolites.
Castor Oil as a Laxative
When you’re constipated, you don’t have bowel movements as often as you should, or your stool is hard to pass. The standard definition of constipation is having fewer than three bowel movements per week.
Everyone goes to the bathroom on a different schedule, though. Some people have several bowel movements per day, and other people have just one bowel movement per day or go every other day.
Any decrease in bowel movements that’s out of the norm for you may be a sign of constipation.
Hard stools can force you to strain while trying to go to the bathroom. Chronic constipation also causes symptoms like abdominal pain and bloating.
Castor oil can be helpful as an occasional treatment for constipation
When someone swallows castor oil, ricinoleic acid latches onto EP3 molecules in smooth muscle cells on the walls of the small intestine and causes contractions, explaining castor oil's effectiveness as a laxative. Similarly, the researchers showed that ricinoleic acid binds to EP3 in the uterus and causes contractions.
Castor oil is a liquid that you take by mouth. It’s typically taken during the day because it works quickly.
The dose of castor oil used to treat constipation in adults is 15 mls. To mask the taste, try putting the castor oil in the fridge for at least an hour to cool it. Then, mix it into a full glass of fruit juice. You can also buy flavoured castor oil preparations.
Castor oil works very quickly. You should see results within two to six hours after taking it. Because castor oil works so fast, it’s not a good idea to take it before bedtime, as you might do with other laxatives.
Like any stimulant laxative, castor oil shouldn’t be taken in the long term. Over time, it can reduce the muscle tone in your intestines and lead to chronic constipation. If you continue to have constipation, see your doctor.
Yes, but extreme caution is advised. A research article was published in PubMed where mice who were given castor oil while pregnant caused their intestines and uterus to contract and in turn, stimulated labour. A study was then completed on 100 pregnant women and more than half of those given castor oil went into labour within 24 hours. However, some experienced nausea afterwards.
The study authors summary states:
"Most side effects caused by taking castor oil are fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Also, castor oil affected newborn's APGOR score at the first minute … It is very important that women get the appropriate dosage from midwife or obstetrician before trying any castor oil induction."
Recommended Dosage
It is often recommended to take around 15mls (3 teaspoons) per day. As mentioned previously it has a strong taste, so it may be a good idea to mix it in with another flavoured liquid or water. For constipation relief, bowel movements may occur within two to three hours, but can take up to six hours to have an effect. A common warning is to not use castor oil for more than a week, as you may incur serious side effects with overuse.
Castor oil is available in both liquid and capsule forms for internal use. Best practice is to always read the product labels and talk to your doctor if to confirm any queries you may have.
Castor oil isn’t right for everyone. It’s not recommended for pregnant women and people with certain health conditions.
Because castor oil can cause the uterus to contract, it’s not recommended during pregnancy.
It’s also not advised for regular use in children under age 12. If you’d like to give castor oil to your child, ask their pediatrician first.
In adults over 60, castor oil may make bowel problems worse if it’s used over a long period. It can also lower the amount of potassium in your body.
You may need to avoid castor oil if you take certain medicines, including:
diuretics, which can also lower the amount of potassium in your body
antibiotics, including tetracycline
bone medicines
blood thinners
heart medicines
In addition to having what many consider to be an unpleasant taste, castor oil has a few side effects. Like other stimulant laxatives, it can cause cramping and diarrhea. It can also reduce the absorption of nutrients in your intestines.
24 Benefits of Castor Oil for Eyelashes, Hair & Health.
