Why is this drink so famous?

Coffee, nowadays, it’s considered an energy boost. The truth is that, apparently, it’s more than that. So, why don’t we talk about some great aspects about coffee?

Caffeine, the most active chemical of coffee, stops adenosine, a chemical that makes you feel drowsy, increasing concentration and reaction speed. Caffeine helps to prevent cognitive decline in old women. Women with an age of 65, or older, consuming more than three cups of coffee each day, scored better results over time on some memory tests than the ones who drank less than a cup of coffee (or tea). Caffeine gives memory benefits and this rises with age. Those who drink coffee being 30% less exposed to memory impairment at age 65 and 70% less over 80.

Caffeine helps people to defends against blepharospasm, which is an involuntary spasm that makes eyes blink in an uncontrollable way. It has also a laxative effect for those who need it.

But, has it only positive effects?

Like it can be possible, right? High dosage of coffee can cause loss of minerals in bones because steals calcium from them, which is lost through urine. High dosage of coffee are also a not-wise choice for cardiovascular reasons, the blood pressure booms, the heart beats rate increases, muscles tighten, blood vessels near the surface constrict and more blood flows to the muscles.

Caffeine can cause problem with your sleep. Some also said that it can cause skin cancer, but others said it can help prevent breast cancer and guess what… Caffeine gets women in the mood for sex (if in moderate dosage).

By the way…

There are tons more aspects that can be considered beneficial, and even more ones that could be a problem. Lots of those aspects are not even totally proved and it’s still a dilemma if coffee is a thumb up or thumb down drink.

So, seems like coffee is great to boost your energy level, but it also seems that it can produce some serious side effects, isn’t? Now, let me ask you, do you think these side effects will hurt you bad, if you drink coffee just one time? The answer is: Not At All! Except form the fact if you have some serious problems with coffee in general of course, but in this case you should be very aware by your doctor.

Coffee, like some other things, is considered an excitant. But there’s a big problem with caffeine unfortunately, and the problem is that it causes addiction. And this is the fact, only people who do not regularly drink coffee will get a ‘push-up’ from caffeine, while the British Coffee Association keeps telling us that regular drinkers do feel more alert.

Regular coffee drinkers swear that their morning caffeine helps them waking up, and in case they don’t take it, they feel they have no energy and will surely be less efficient in their activities. Researches show that a first caffeine intake does not make the individuals more alert than those who do not drink coffee are.

Can you see the problem here?

When we habit our body to caffeine, and when it finish to metabolize it, we feel tired because our own body is dependent and it tells us (in its own way) it needs more caffeine. Stop drinking coffee, if you are already dependent by it, can cause you headache, muscle aches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, irritability and fatigue, in short, a real syndrome of abstinence.

Do we need to tell more here? I guess you get the point. There’s no proof so far that coffee is really a good deal to tell the truth but, for sure, it has the ability to give you a little “push-up” when you want it, unless you are under dependency obviously.

So, how can we manage effectively this drink? If you love it, and can’t live without it, feel free to drink it no more than 3-5 cup a day. An higher exposure of this is risky and some side effects may occur. If you are already under dependency start by limiting the dosage unless you get comfortable with the “3-5 cup a day “pace. If you treat coffee like an energy drink, remember to consume it only when you really need it (special occasions), because, the more frequently you drink it, the more it will start to turn the opposite way.

Bottom line…

Do not abuse it, never. It will hurt you badly if you do. Take it in small doses and not too frequently. If you love the taste (like me), do not go over 3-5 cup a day and, if you are already under dependency, take small steps to decrease the daily dosage to now fell too bad.

The question was: Boost In Energy Or Energy Loss? It depends on you and how wisely you treat yourself with coffee. Don’t aim to be a slave of coffee, because… You can be the master.

We have to constantly deal with this problem. If it wasn’t for this, nobody will be obese nowadays. But problems can’t stop here, could they? It’s just too easy and boring for mother earth this way, and she likes to play a lot with us, trust me.

Being obese, or overweight in general, is just the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately. Well, to tell the truth, just this tip is really a big one. Do you know which are the “side effects” of being obese for example?

Let me list just a few of them…

Diseases in the following sectors: Cardiovascular, Endocrine, Gastrointestinal, Renal and Genitourinary, Integument (skin and appendages), Musculoskeletal, Neurologic, Respiratory, Psychological and only god know what comes next.

And what is the cause of the obesity “illness”? Easy answer. But the problem here is not concerning only obese people. Lets face it, it’s not a secret anymore how fast-absorbing carbohydrates, the one that was long recommended by the National Research Council (to name one), are a really dangerous move (fact talks, more obese people than not in U.S. by now).

Some lucky ones, about 25% of the population, have a slow insulin response. Good for them, they won the lottery! But even for them, this will not last long. As age progress, the hormonal response changes and, always, in the bad way.

Anyway, they are slim and fit! Cool, isn’t? Well, not at all. What about their “inside”? Even if they are not overweight they can accuse serious illness caused by eating too much and the wrong way. Facts show how there are lots of apparently slim people in a even worse “shape” than obese ones. Take cholesterol for example, if you have the (lets say) luck of externalize your fat, you will not be in as a serious danger as the ones that do not put fat on their belly but, instead, are affected by cholesterol.

So, can you guess what’s happening here?

Food is like a medicine, and you have to take the right dose of the right one at the right pace. What if you take the wrong medicine for a problem? You guess it. What if you take the wrong dose, or overdose? You guess it. What if you have to take a medicine 3 times a day but you take it just 1 time every other day? Again, you guess it.

Food is no exception and, if you care a little about health, you probably already know lots of what being said. But it’s here that come in place you greatest enemy… The Hunger! Yes, the big “H” is what really prevents you from succeeding. Either if you are overweight, obese or just willing to lose that damned 3-5 kg to feel healthy (and maybe be able to fit into you new swimsuit), you need to deal with the big “H”.

But don’t worry, I’ve got the solution. Just stop eat!! Well, I’m joking obviously. But guess what, it’s not a joke for lots of people as there are tons of them that start madness diets. May I ask why? Are you aiming to get worse than when you started? Are you aiming to kill yourself? This is nonsense. And the worst part is that this doesn’t even work.

It Does Not Work!!

You need to start eating better, not worse. You already know which are the healthy foods, I’m pretty confident about it. But just to name a few… fruits, vegetables and lean meat (white one if possible). The problem is that most of people are servants of fast-absorbing carbohydrates (pasta, bread or, in general, anything based upon grain). This kind of carbohydrates are able to create a vicious loop where you cannot exit from. And this is the problem, the big “H”. You can’t eat well because eating well will not stop your hunger.

So, what if you can eat well and at the same time get freedom from hunger? Would not be awesome? If only this dream could be reality… Hey wait, but it’s reality!

We have the solution, folks. Have you ever heard about a root called konjac? It’s not so widespread among Western people. The first time I heard about it, and all it’s amazing features, it made me say… Seriously? I’m quite a skeptical person, and for this…

I made my experiments.

Konjac it the second of only two foods in the world with a real slimming feature. It’s a root that the Japanese have start consuming more than 2,000 years ago. It is produced like pasta, in all respects similar to the classic Western variety, but with two extraordinary properties for those who want to lose weight:

• They do not contain calories
• Help filling the big “H” for a very long time

In addition to having a positive effect on health, the shirataki (konjac or pasta), have a pleasant texture is slightly crunchy. Delicious, the shirataki konjac can serve with any kind of sauce. After being rinsed thoroughly with water should dissolve small skeins of pasta starting from the ends. They are prepared in a minute soaking in boiling water or directly in the sauce.

Let’s summarize

It’s a food with no calories, it taste good, it’s totally natural (no dangerous pills here), it’s like eating pasta, it’s easy and super fast to prepare, it’s quite inexpensive and you just need about 30 grams of it o feel full for lots of hours. Who Could Want More?

Why this works? How to make it works?

You now know what it is about and which features it provides, but how do we use it the most efficient way? This is my plan, just a simple one to start with.

-Breakfast- Just eat what you want. In the morning your body is capable of wonders, it can metabolize everything. Drastic changes in diets are not so good for your body, so in the morning keep eating what you are more comfortable with (just remember that breakfast is the single most important meal, do not even think about skipping it, eat as much as you can).

-Lunch- Pasta time, right? Wrong. Delete the pasta, instead implement konjac noodles. Zero calories and you will feel good for the rest of the day. Remember that konjac noodles are used just to exit the fast-absorbing carbohydrates loop and to not feel the hunger after lunch. So have a good meal with meat, vegetable and, just in the end, 30 grams of shirataki.

-Dinner- This is crucial. We, humans, are not able to well metabolize foods late in the day. So this meal has to be the most “light” of all. For the rest try to follow the same pattern as the lunch.

What’s now?

What do you mean by that? Start implementing, seriously! You will feel great with this. As I said, konjac is quite inexpensive and you can order online in lots of different places. My advice… Take the “dry” one. Just 30 grams of this will converts in 60 grams when soaking in boiling water. Now that a new market is revolving around this food (because of all it’s properties), you need to be aware of what you are seeking. Opt for the most natural one and do not get anything else except from the “dry” one.

Implement now! Put a comment if you have questions about this root and… Well… To your success and to a better and healthier life.

Listen, “fat” is the most fearing word when it comes to fitness, diets or health in general, but it is not! It’s also the most misunderstood one and seems like an entire phobia revolve around it. Why is this happening?

In no other country the “fat phobia” is as diffused as in U.S. To the other side American folks think that carbohydrates are vessels of god, sent on earth to give us that ultimate ray of hope. Guess what? There’s no other country as fat as America. But leaving carbohydrates aside from this article let’s take a look at fats.

Fats, whatever diet you are into, will not make you fat, instead we need fats to lose fat. Scary, isn’t? Now this is the disclaimer… I’m not saying that if you eat lard each and every meal you will get fit like never before, this is totally wrong (and also dangerous). But there are both good fats and bad fats. Good fats are quite a big resource when it comes to health and, without them, losing fat will not be an easy task to achieve.

I’m telling you this because lots of diets are madness, I mean… Reducing to zero, the amount of fats we need, is quite dangerous. Most of the “healthy diets” does not even make a distinction between good or bad fats and they just make you stop eating what your body really need.

So, fat that helps you burn fat?

Sounds like an heresy, isn’t? Now, let’s get serious for one sec. Back to the 50′s, Kekwick and Pawan published by the University of London a study that remains a cornerstone of the research. A group of patients subjected to a low-calorie diet: 1000 calories per day, 90% of which came from fat. What happened? These subjects lost weight, significantly. But when they made the same experiment except from the fact that the 90% of calories changed from fat to carbohydrates, no one lost weight. Funny, right?

In a right diet, the amount of fat is a key element if you want to prevent fat gain and, for this, we need fat to burn fat. With the right combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats (the 3 macronutrients), losing weight could be an easy task. And I want you to understand that I’m not speaking by religion, but science.

For this, I made my experiments.

Back to 2007 I studied 87 people (60 women and 27 men), all of them between 25 and 60 in age. They were great but a little overweight, exactly what I was looking for, just some funny Americans that were not able to get rid of some undesired kg.

The results? They all lost about half of a kg per week. Consider that is genetically impossible to lose more than 450-650 g of fat per week. If we want we can lose more weight but we are primarily losing liquids and muscles. This is the reason why we tend to gain that weight back as soon as humanly possible when we stop what we were doing.

Women lost an average of 3.2 kg of fat (not weight but fat) and the percentage of fat decreased from 29% to 26%. With men the results were even better. The losing of fat helped so much the gain of MM (muscles) that the losing of weight was not too noticeable, but they went from 20% to 17% of fatty tissue. So, in both cases, we achieved an unexpected 11/15% improvement. And we also made a statistic of this just to prove this was not by case. The statistic told us that the success rate was about 99.5%, quite accurate, isn’t?

What I want point here is that if the combination of carbohydrates/proteins/fats was off, no such results were possible. Don’t make the mistake of thinking about fat as the most fearsome enemy. That’s right, as there are good and bad carbohydrates, not all fat is “quality” fat and it’s for this single reason that we need to understand (or learn) what is “quality” and what is not.

Then, what fat do you need?

In order to implement a correct diet we need to implement some fats, this is essential for the eicosanoids which are the hormones that control everything and, like fibers, the are useful to slow down the emission of carbohydrates into the body.

Here is a list of some food that contains good fats.

• Olives
• Olive oil
• Seeds oil
• Macadamia
• Mayonnaise Light
• Arachnid butter

Good fats are actually called monounsaturated. Also, I’d like to mention that fat is important for another 2 reasons. First of all they make every food more yummy (big big point here) and second, they cause the secretion in the stomach of cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that signals the brain satiety.

Bottom line…

Fat is important. We need it to stay healthy and, actually, to be able to burn fat. There are good and bad fat: the good one are listed above, the wrong one are actually animal fats (take it as a general rule).

Why this actually works? Because of hormonal responses. This is a tough topic and for this I’ll write soon an entire post about it. So, do not be afraid of monounsaturated fats and even if the above list seems kind of poor, consider that you do not need a lot of them (a teaspoon of olive oil in a single meal is all you need).

Food, fats included, need to be treated like a medicine. The right dose at the right time (nothing excluded), period. If you know some other sources of monounsaturated fats just drop a comment below, I’m sure everyone will be glad.

Now what?

Would you rather stop eating fats and enter that hormonal sweet spot that will you help burn more fat than you can gain, or would you still believe that a “zero fat” diet is what will make you achieve health and weightloss the right way? It’s your choice now.