A New Year REVOLUTION (for you)

 

 

Apparently the post i put up  a couple days ago hit some with several people, because I got a good number emails from folks thanking me for sharing my position on the whole New Year resolution weight loss thing.

 

 

 

Anyway, like I said in that post. I hate resolutions.

 

 

 

I believe you and I can accomplish anything we want, when we want and we don’t need the pressure of the new year or permission from the media in order to lose weight (or quit smoking or to make more money if that’s what you’re into).

 

 

 

So since my “down with the resolutions” post resonated with you, I got to thinking and came up with an idea!

 

 

 

Since what I do every day is help my clients lose weight and get into better shape I thought you’d want to know that I got inspired by your feedback and decided to create a New Year REVOLUTION fitness and fat loss program that’s going to deliver amazing results, and success will be pretty much be a sure thing.

 

 

 

Since I just got this idea, I don’t have all the details of the program down yet, BUT I wanted to get this note out to you to…

 

 

 

1. Thank you for the feedback and the inspiration.

 

 

 

1. Let you know to cancel your new year resolution because you’re going to want to join me for my new year revolution 😉

 

 

 

Like I said, I don’t have all the details now, but like all great mad scientist I’m going go to my drawing board and craft the most awesome weight loss and get back into shape program EVER and I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I get it together.

 

 

 

If you think you might be interested in learning more about my NEW YEAR REVOLUTION weight loss and back to fitness program then reply to this email and let me know you want more info.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

More to come 🙂

Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA

fitnusbiz@gmail.com

602-299-9357

http://www.facebook.com/fitnusbiznus.com

 

Super Foods for Healthy Hair

We’ve all learned through the years that a well-balanced diet is healthy for our body and critical for optimal health and performance.  Our hair is no different A mixture of protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and iron are all required for healthy, strong hair.

Good hair nutrition begins with getting enough protein, which is the building block of your hair. Then you need complex carbohydrates to help assemble the proteins for hair growth. Other important vitamins and minerals include B complex, which is associated with energy production and building good hair and skin issues, folic acid, B12, and zinc.

Hair follicles can have low energy levels just like we do.  Therefore, it’s very important that you eat a high protein mean at the start of each day.  Consider the following food choices for breakfast and the other daily meals in order to give you hair the healthiest opportunity to grow and thrive.

If you don’t have high cholesterol, try eating red meat twice per week.  It has the protein your hair needs, but also is full of B vitamins, iron and zinc, which are all important for healthy hair.  Bacon is another great choice as it’s also full of B vitamins, zinc and protein, but since it’s also high calorie, it’s not the best choice if you’re also trying to lose weight. Eggs and egg whites are another great protein option, especially for vegetarians or those who cannot eat red meat or bacon due to dietary restrictions.  Salmon is another great protein choice, and works great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  You’ll find it’s also full of B vitamins, including B12, and other vitamins and minerals.

 

Just be sure to keep in mind that you should also have complex carbohydrates, which feed you energy over a longer period of time than refined carbohydrates, with your protein source at meals. Brown short-grain rice is an ideal form. It’s also a good source of B vitamins and some fiber. Whole grain choices complement your protein consumption by helping organize the proteins for the hair to utilize for optimal growth and health.

Or you can go with this option

Yours in Health
Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA

 

Deiting and Fitness

 

When it comes to living a long and healthy life, there are two necessary ingredients: Meal planning and fitness. While some believe that they are one thing all together, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with deplorable fitness habits. It is equally possible to be very physically fit with less than savory eating habits.

 

There’s a clever little line in the Jimmy Buffet song “Fruitcakes” when his ‘lady’ is lamenting:

“I treat my body like a temple

 You treat yours like a tent”

 

I can’t help but think of this line whenever I think about all the people around the world who are going on these garbage in, garbage out diet plans hoping to achieve the weight loss success of those who are endorsing these products.

 

To be completely honest, it is possible to shed pounds through diet alone. It is difficult but possible. It is also possible to be physically fit and have a few extra pounds hanging around. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we consume a high fat low substance diet our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. At the same time if we aren’t providing our bodies with the tools it needs to build muscle it doesn’t matter how many weights we lift.

 

When it comes to diet and fitness, the best results are achieved when they work together rather than separately. Use your fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to build muscle. I’ve heard many times in my life that a pound of muscle weighs less than a pound of fat. While this is not true at all, a pound is a pound regardless; a pound of muscle occupies less space on the body than a pound of fat. Pound for pound, I would much rather mine be composed of muscle than fat. Dieting alone does not build muscle and that is something you will do well to remember in your efforts.

 

You should also realize that as you are building muscle you may be shedding inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is very important that you keep this in mind throughout the weight loss process. Do not measure your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results. The problem is that far too many people do just this and get frustrated and give up when they are actually making progress. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight pants, and measure your waistline. Measure your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs not by how many pounds fell of the scale this week.

 

By incorporating fitness into your diet routine you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may have consumed during the day. This means that if you want to have a small ‘cheat’ during your day, you can make up for it by burning a few more calories than normal in the evening. This isn’t something that should happen often but an occasional occurrence isn’t going to make or break your diet.

 

You should also look at dieting and fitness as a ball and glove type of relationship. While you can play ball without the glove, it seems to work so much better if you have both. Diet and fitness when combined can create fantastic weight loss results for those who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone and neither will work unless you are willing to do the work. You must make this a priority in your life in order to achieve the best possible results.

 

Change your life now

Check out our website

Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA

 

Is Barbecuing Really Healthier?

Since we in the middle of the barbecuing season and pool parties, especially in hot Arizona, I thought I ‘d shed some light on the question of Barbecuing.

People used to question the nutritional effects of barbecuing because they were concerned about the fat content of traditional barbecue fare like hot dogs and hamburgers. That concern is valid, but it’s easily avoided by substituting skinless chicken and fish.

Unfortunately, researchers say there is still another concern about the health impact of barbecuing any animal meats; when they are cooked in the intense heat of the barbecue, substances are formed that have been clearly shown to be carcinogens (substances that can start the development of cancer). And these substances develop regardless of whether low-fat or high-fat, red meat or white meat is on the grill.

In a landmark report on diet and cancer risk, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) notes that as meat – red or white – is cooked, natural substances that it contains react under intense heat to form compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that have been linked with increased cancer risk in some animal studies. The longer the cooking time and higher the temperature, the more these carcinogenic substances formed.

Studies in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute have shown that people who frequently eat heavily browned or very well done meat are three to five times more likely to develop breast, colon and stomach cancer than those who eat it less often. Studies of rodents demonstrated that these HCAs are distributed to mammary (breast) tissue and cause changes in a cell’s genetic material. However, we don’t have proof that this process occurs in people.

Does this mean that if you care about your health you must banish the grill? Not necessarily. Researchers note that how people barbecue affects the risks. For example, marinating meat or poultry even briefly before cooking reduces the amount of HCAs formed by about 96 percent. Partially pre-cooking meat for two minutes in the microwave just before grilling prevents 90 percent of the HCAs normally formed.

Avoid the black char that often forms during grilling, since it is particularly concentrated in cancer-causing substances. Other carcinogens of concern come from the smoke. You can limit the meat’s contact with smoke and decrease this risk if you raise the grill a little higher from the heat and choose leaner meats and trim all visible fat so it can’t drip and cause smoking. Placing food in a foil packet also prevents smoking.

The rest of your meal can reduce the risks of grilling as well. Antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables and soy foods seem to block some of the damage HCAs do to cells. Studies from Oregon State University demonstrate that substances in tea increase the body’s ability to detoxify and excrete HCA before they do their damage.

Look at the overall balance of your meal. AICR recommends that at any meal, animal protein like meat, poultry and seafood should occupy no more than a third of your plate. And that’s especially true when it’s grilled. By limiting your meat portion, you limit your exposure to HCAs and other carcinogens. And by enjoying a healthy portion of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, you get loads of cancer-fighting, health-promoting nutrients and phytochemicals. If you want to grill some of these veggies, that’s no problem, since the HCA reaction occurs only in foods with animal protein.

Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA

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A few tips on how to avoid slipping into Starvation mode

You must give up the entire concept of dieting on very low calories to lose weight. You’ll never lose weight permanently with low-calorie diets – it is physiologically impossible. Temporary dieting can only produce temporary results. You must use other methods. Let’s look at some strategies you can use to lose fat permanently while staying out of the starvation mode.

1. Adopt the “habit” mindset instead of the “diet” mindset

The first step towards losing fat permanently has more to do with your mindset than it does with nutrition or exercise. You have to change your entire attitude about nutrition and exercise.

Instead of adopting the mindset of short-term “diets,” you must adopt the mindset of lifelong “habits.” A habit is a behavior that you perform automatically without much conscious thought or effort.

Once a habit is firmly established – good or bad – it takes enormous strength to break it. It’s like trying to swim upstream against the current.

The entire concept of “dieting” for fat loss is flawed. When you say you’re “going on a diet”, the underlying implication is that it’s a temporary change and at some point you’re going to have to “go off” the diet.

With this type of attitude, you’re setting yourself up for failure right from the start.

2. Keep your muscle at all costs

The critical factor in turning your body into a “fat-burning machine” is to build and maintain as much lean body mass as possible. Muscle is the bodybuilder’s fat burning secret weapon!

Muscle is your metabolic furnace. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.

With more muscle, you burn more calories even while you sleep. With a higher lean body mass, you’ll also burn more calories during exercise. If you put two people side by side jogging on a treadmill, one of them with 180 pounds of lean body mass and the other with 150 of lean body mass, the person with 180 pounds of lean body mass will burn more calories from the same workout.

The most efficient way to burn more calories and lose more body fat is to gain more muscle. That’s why weight training is an important part of the fat loss equation.

3. Use a small calorie deficit.

To lose body fat, you must be in negative calorie balance (a calorie deficit). You can create a calorie deficit by increasing activity, by decreasing calories or with a combination of both.

The most efficient approach to fat loss is to decrease your calories a little and increase your activity a lot.

The most commonly recommended guideline is to reduce your calories by 500 less than your maintenance level. For example, if you are female and your calorie maintenance level is 2100 calories per day, then a 500-calorie deficit would put you at  1600 calories per day.

If you’re a male with a calorie maintenance level of 2900 calories per day, then a 500-calorie deficit would put you at 2400 calories per day.

A 500-calorie deficit over seven days is 3500 calories in one week. There   calories in a pound of fat, so (in theory), a 500 calorie per day deficit will result in aloes of one pound of body fat per week.

It follows that a 750-calorie deficit would produce a loss of one and a half pounds per week and a 1000-calorie deficit would produce a two-pound per week reduction but approach that carefully to make sure you’re not losing too much muscle.

4. Use exercise to burn the fat rather than diets to starve the fat

To lose body fat, there must be a calorie deficit. Such are the laws of thermodynamics and energy balance.However, there’s more than one way to create calorie deficit. One way is to decrease your calorie intake from food.

The other is to increase the amount of calories you burn though exercise.

Of the two ways to create a calorie deficit, burning the calories is the superior method. This is because large calorie deficits cause muscle loss and trigger the starvation response.

Ironically, most people do the opposite: They slash their calories to starvation levels and exercise too little or not at all. This causes a decrease in lean body mass and invokes the starvation mechanism.

Paradoxical as it seems, the most effective approach to fat loss is to eat more (keep the calorie reduction small) and let the exercise burn the fat.

You don’t have to starve yourself – you just have to choose the right foods and make exercise a part of your lifestyle.

Here are the reasons why exercise – not dieting – is the superior method of losing body fat:

1. Exercise – aerobic and weight training – raises your metabolic rate.

2. Exercise creates a caloric deficit without triggering the starvation response.

3. Exercise is good for your health. Dieting is harmful to your health.

4. Exercise, especially weight training, signals your body to keep your muscle and

Not burn it for energy. Dieting without exercise can result in up to 50% of the Weight loss to come from lean body mass.

5. Exercise increases fat-burning enzymes and hormones.

6. Exercise increases the cells sensitivity to insulin so that carbohydrates are burned for energy and stored as glycogen rather than being stored as fat.

5. Determine your minimal calorie requirements and never drop below them – ever!

One way to ensure that you never go into starvation mode is to determine the minimum amount of calories you can eat without slowing your metabolism.

Then, use that as your rock bottom calorie number.

Because nutrition must be individualized, it is difficult to set an absolute single figure for everyone as a minimal calorie requirement,  so it is imperative to sit down with a professional to help you get as close as you can to your target number.

6. Eat more frequently and never skip meals The body interprets missed meals as starvation. Let us suppose you eat lunch at 12:00 noon and dinner at 7:00 pm.

If you skip breakfast the next day, that is 17 hours without food. This sends an unmistakable signal to your body that you are starving, even if your lunch and dinner are large meals.

Your goal should be to eat approximately every three hours. Establish scheduled meal times and stick to them. Regularity in your eating habits is critical.

By eating smaller portions more frequently, you’ll be able to eat more food than you’ve ever eaten before without being deprived or starving yourself.

Most people say they eat more on this program than they’ve ever eaten yet they get leaner than they’ve ever been before.

7. Don’t stay in a negative calorie balance long

The chances are good that you know at least one person who always seems to be on a diet. The odds are also good that although these habitual dieters may achieve some small weight losses, they are among the 95% that always gain it back.

Then, discouraged with the failure of their last diet, they quickly embark on the latest “diet of the month” and repeat the cycle.

When fat loss stops or begins to slow down after being in a substantial calorie deficit, most people panic and cut their calories even further. Sometimes this works and it breaks the plateau.

More often than not, it digs you into an even deeper metabolic rut. The best thing you can do is to raise your calories for a few days or sometimes even for a few weeks.

Your body’s weight regulating mechanism works both ways: It can decrease your rate of energy expenditure when there is a calorie deficit, or it can also increase its rate of energy expenditure when there is a calorie surplus.

When you eat more, your body burns more. A temporary increase in calories when you have hit a plateau will “spike” your metabolic rate.

It sends a signal to your body that you are not starving and that it is ok to keep burning calories.

This practice of raising your caloric intake up and down is known as “cycling” your calories (also known as the “zigzag” method).

In general, the lower you go with your calories, the more important it is to take periodic high calorie days.

We’ll take a closer look at “cycling” your calorie and macro nutrients intakes in later posts.

8. Make your goal to lose weight slowly at a rate of 1-2 lbs. per week. Be patient.

The best way to lose fat permanently without muscle loss is to lose weight slowly with a focus on exercise rather than severe calorie cutting.

We already made the suggestion to lose no more than two pounds per week. Let us take a closer look at the logic behind that recommendation.

This two-pound figure has become almost universally accepted as the standard guideline for safe weight loss.

Why? Because you can lose more than two pounds of weight per week, but you’re highly unlikely to lose more than two pounds of fat per week.

Even at two pounds per week, it’s difficult to lose 100% body fat with no loss of lean body mass!

Share our post and look us up if you have any questions

Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA
Fysiques By Ferguson/Fit Body Club

21 Tips to a Leaner Body

I am here sitting on the couch with my laptop ,  watching the news (why do I torture myself) watching Angelina run around playing, so I thought I might put up a quick blog post.

 

Here are 21 tips to getting leaner

1) Lift weights heavy enough to reach failure between 8-12 reps

2) Do HIT cardio (high intensity interval training) this is when you do a period of very fast pace cardio followed by a period of slower pace

3) Avoid over-training! You’re body needs 48 to 72 hours to recover.

4) If you love carbohydrates you can use simple carbohydrates (OJ and Pomegrate juice or grape juice or any carbs you enjoy) and protein immediately within 30 minutes of your workout

5) Eat small frequent meals every 2 to 3 hours (depending on your metabolism)

6) Eat a lean protein source every 3 hours

7) Take essential fatty acid supplement

Supplement with whey protein and Glutamine

9) Make sure to always take a multivitamin

10) Become friends with green leafy veggies and eat them ALL THE TIME

11) Say good-bye to Mayonnaise and BBQ sauce and say hello to Salsa, Mustard and hot sauce. (I love green Tabasco)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12) Drink water all day long and get rid of liquid calories (unless it’s a protein shake)

13) Limit Alcohol (Alcohol has 7 calories/gram) we all need to work on this one

14) If you must drink, keep it in moderation and don’t add more calories to your drink (Sodas, juices, creams etc…)

15) If you can, take a 15 to 30 minute power napin the afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16) Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner should include 1/3 Protein, 1/3 healthy fat and 1/3 fibrous carbohydrate. Make adjustments according to your metabolic type.

17) Make sure you engage in some form of resistant training 2 to 3 times a week.

18) Don’t ever ever skip breakfast

19) Cook your food in bulk. (I cook my food on Sundays and Wednesdays)

20) Always know your schedule the night before and know when you are going to eat the next day

 

 

 

 

21) Always have a RTD (ready to drink) shake with you at all times in case you can’t get to your food

 

 

Have a great Sunday! Were off to the pool

Clarence Ferguson

Virgin coconut oil

Coconut trees can be found in almost all of the 7, 107 islands of the Philippines — a hot, humid, and tropical country located in Southeast Asia. For centuries, the inhabitants of these islands have turned to the coconut tree — the so-called “Tree of Life” — as a source of materials for shelter, food, and alternative medicine.  The coconut tree is called “Tree of Life” because almost all of its parts can be utilized.  The trunk is used as lumber;  the woven leaves are used for roofing; and even midribs from the stems are brought together to form a native broom.

Another natural product that comes from the tree is the coconut oil.  This oil is derived from fresh coconut meat to produce a food supplement known as Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO).  Using the “cold press” method, the coconut oil is extracted by grating the fresh coconut and by squeezing the coconut meat.  The  coconut milk is put into a sanitary container, covered, and allowed to stand for about 24 to 36 hours. The “virgin” coconut oil which naturally separates from the water content of the coconut milk is then transferred to another container. At that stage, the VCO is ready for consumption without cooking, heating, or any other process that might take away some of the nutritional properties of the virgin oil.

Lately, the coconut oil has been given much attention not only for its use in cooking but also for its value as a hair and skin care product.  The VCO is actually used as a hair tonic and skin moisturizer. Many Filipinos use the coconut oil to maintain a youthful, wrinkle-free skin. VCO can also be used to treat sunburned skin.

Research findings show that VCO is an effective ingredient for skin care treatment. The virgin coconut oil is high in antioxidants that penetrate into the concealed tissues of the skin.  The oil helps protect the body against the formation of free radicals which are molecules that rob electrons from the millions of cells in the human body. Free radicals damage and destroy these cells including the body’s connective tissues. These tissues are responsible for keeping the skin elastic and flexible. VCO helps to strengthen these connective tissues and aids in the prevention of skin sagging and wrinkling. VCO softens and moisturizes the skin, and removes dirt from the outer layer of the skin making it shiny and smooth.

Many skin care solutions in the market are made from vegetable oils that have gone through various refining processes, making these products prone to free radical generation. These processes have stripped these products of most of the essential antioxidants.

Virgin coconut oil is still a very good skin care treatment alternative since it has retained its antioxidant properties.  The antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties of VCO are from the presence of lauric acid in the oil. Lauric acid helps prevent disease-causing bacteria that may lead to skin infections. Medical experts now advise people to take at least two tablespoons of VOC a day as a preventive measure against  bacterial infection. VCO kills many forms of viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia, ear and throat infections, and other illnesses.  Instead of taking antibiotics and other synthetic drugs, people should now consider the use of VCO as a food supplement and over-all health aid.

Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA

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6 Tips for Healthy Dinner out

Ever wonder how you can possibly lose weight when the average dinner out contains over 1,000 calories? Well, don’t fret! Keeping yourself in shape when dining out is simply a matter of ordering the right menu.

Below are 6 tips for having a healthy dinner out (while still enjoying your meal like normal!):

– Watch Your Drinks – By not ordering an alcoholic beverage, you’ve saved yourself a considerable number of calories. Try sipping iced tea sweetened with a noncaloric sweetener, or water with lemon. You’ll be glad you did when you consider the calorie savings.

– Have A Salad – One of the best menus to have is salad. Not only will it fill you up so you’ll consume fewer calories overall, but it will also give you a hefty dose of antioxidants which are heart healthy. Be sure to ask your waitress to hold the croutons which will further reduce your caloric load. Also, choose your dressing wisely. Avoid cream based dressings and go for the vinegar based ones. You also have the option of using vinegar and olive oil which is heart healthy.

– Don’t Order An Appetizer Unless Necessary – Do you know that some appetizers have more calories and fat than the main course? Plus, many appetizers are fried and served with heavy sauces which will add to your intake of saturated fat as well as trans fats and calories. It’s not a healthy way to start your meal.

 – Choose The Right Kind Of Foods – Go for broiled and grilled rather than fried. Not only will you save calories and fat grams, you’ll also avoid trans fats which are so prevalent in fried foods. Instead, consider asking for a doubles order of vegetables with your entree. Very few Americans are getting the 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables recommended for optimal health. Plus, by avoiding the starch, you’ll be reducing your caloric and carbohydrate load. Also, stick to tomato based sauces rather than cream based and you’ll enjoy a considerable calorie savings. Lastly, ask for the sauce to be served in a separate dish on the side so you can control the amount you eat.

– Don’t Overeat – Today, many restaurants are serving larger quantities of food than in the past. If this is the case, put aside a portion of your entree at the beginning of the meal to take home with you. If you remove it from your plate before you start eating, you’ll be less tempted to overeat.

– Say “No” To Sugary, Fatty Desserts – Instead, go for a  low carbohydrate dessert selection such as a low carb cheesecake. These are wise choices for the health conscious eater and still allow you to end the meal on a sweet note.

The next time you go out for dinner, keep the above tips in mind. You will be surprised how many calories you are able to slash out of your meal just by ordering the right menus! Happy healthy eating!

Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA

Color Your Way to Daily Health

 

It’s important that we eat plenty of different fruits and vegetables every day. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are important for good health. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling. You’ve probably heard about the 5 A Day for Better Health program. It provides easy ways to add more fruits and vegetables into your daily eating patterns. It’s vital that we eat a wide variety of colorful orange/yellow, red, green, white, and blue/purple vegetables and fruit every day.

By eating vegetables and fruit from each color group, you will benefit from the essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that each color group has to offer alone and in combination. There’s several different yet simple ways to start incorporating vegetables and fruit into your familiar and favorite meals.

You can begin your day with 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, slice bananas or strawberries on top of your oatmeal, or have a salad with lunch and an apple for an afternoon snack. Include a vegetable with dinner and you already have about 5 cups of fruits and vegetables. You may even try adding a piece of fruit for a snack or an extra vegetable at dinner. Just make sure you have a protein with each of these meals.

Don’t be afraid to try something new to increase your vegetable and fruit intake. There are so many choices when selecting fruits and vegetables. Kiwifruit, asparagus, and mango may become your new favorite. Keep things fresh and interesting by combining fruits and vegetables of different flavors and colors, like red grapes with pineapple chunks, or cucumbers and red peppers.

Get in the habit of keeping fruits and vegetables visible and easily accessible – you’ll tend to eat them more. Store cut and cleaned produce at eye-level in the refrigerator, or keep a big colorful bowl of fruit on the table. For those of you know you won’t consciously, eat fruits and vegetables here is a good alternative that you can supplement to achieve the benefits listed above..

Check it out Here

Yours in Fitness Clarence Ferguson RTSM, CMTA

Organic Foods Equal Improved Health

Organic food is food that is free from all genetically modified organisms, produced without artificial pesticides and fertilizers and derived from an animal reared without the routine use of antibiotics, growth promoters or other drugs. Once only available in small stores or farmers’ markets, organic foods are becoming much more widely available

Organic foods have been shown to improve your immune system, help you sleep better, shed the excess weight more easily, and improve your blood work just to name a few.  Organic food can boast intense, realistic flavors, and a higher vitamin and mineral content.

And though logically it makes sense to consume a diet based on organic foods, some worry about the cost. But with careful planning and preparation, going organic is actually quite affordable. And, the peace of mind knowing you and your family are consuming foods that haven’t been treated with pesticides or genetically altered is worth the extra money spent.

The pesticides used by conventional farmers can have many negative influences on your health, including neurotoxicity, disruption of your endocrine system, carcinogenicity and immune system suppression. Pesticide exposure may also affect male reproductive function and has been linked to miscarriages in women. Additionally, conventional produce tends to have fewer nutrients than organic produce. On average, conventional produce has only 83 percent of the nutrients of organic produce. Studies have found significantly higher levels of nutrients such as vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and significantly less nitrates (a toxin) in organic crops.

So it’s a smart idea to buy and eat organic produce and free-range organic foods as much as possible for maximum health benefits.  In addition, the knowledge that you’re supporting the organic foods industry that is dedicated to protecting the environment by steering clear of harmful pesticides and chemicals that can result in the loss of topsoil, toxic runoff and resulting water pollution, soil contamination and poisoning and the death of insects, birds, critters and beneficial soil organisms should help you feel even better.

 

Go Organic !!!!

Yours in Fitness

Clarence Ferguson RTSM/CMTA