Sunday, April 28, 2013

Its been a long time


Wow, its been a long time since I posted. I've been overwhelmed with Facebook. If you want daily updates on health and fitness go to my Facebook page Healthandhappinesswith5kids and hit like.

I have been currently doing the workout program called Body Beast and I have to say, I'm in love. Its an intense weight training program with only 1 day of cardio. This is one of the main reasons I love this program. I'm not a cardio person. Weight training is not just for men, but women benefit greatly from it as well. You only bulk up if you want to and you feel stronger and, get this, you have more endurance. I actually feel faster since starting this program. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Monday, October 31, 2011

The pumpkin seed


Its that time of year again. I love Wikipedia.
Here are some fun facts about pumpkin seeds.
Pepita (from Mexican Spanish: pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash") is a Spanish culinary term for the pumpkin seed, the edible seed of a pumpkin or other cultivar of squash (genus Cucurbita). The seeds are typically rather flat and asymmetrically oval, and light green in color inside a white hull. The word can refer either to the hulled kernel or unhulled whole seed, and most commonly refers to the roasted end product. The pressed oil of the roasted seeds of a specific pumpkin variety is also used in Central and Eastern European cuisine (see Pumpkin seed oil).
Pepitas are a popular ingredient in Mexican cuisine and are also roasted and served as a snack. Marinated and roasted, they are an autumn seasonal favorite in the rural United States, as well as a commercially produced and distributed packaged snack, like sunflower seeds, available year-round. Pepitas are known by their Spanish name (usually shortened), and typically salted and sometimes spiced after roasting (and today also available as a packaged product), in Mexico and other Latin American countries, in the American Southwest, and in speciality and Mexican food stores. In the Americas, they have been eaten since at least the time of the Aztecs and probably much earlier, since squash was one of the three earliest plant domesticates in the Western Hemisphere, along with maize (corn) and common beans (collectively the Native American agricultural "Three Sisters", originating in Mexico).
The seeds are also good sources of protein, as well as iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and potassium. In regards to iron, 25 grams of pepitas (about a US quarter-cup) can provide over 20 percent of the recommended daily iron intake).

Whole seeds or kernels
According to the USDA, one gram of roasted pepita contain 5.69 mg L-tryptophan and one gram of pepita protein contains 17.2 mg of L-tryptophan. One cup of milk contains 183 mg. This high tryptophan content makes pepita of interest to researchers studying the treatment of anxiety disorders. Some eat the seeds as preventative measure against onset of anxiety attacks, clinical depression and other mood disorders.
Some studies[which?] have also found pumpkin seeds to prevent arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and to regulate cholesterol levels in the body.

[edit] The oil

The oil of pumpkin seeds, a culinary speciality in (and important export commodity of) Central European cuisine as a salad oil and a cooking oil, is also used to treat irritable bowel syndrome and various other ailments, both in folk medicine and in modern medical practice and research.
Long an Eastern European folk remedy for the prostate problems of men, the oil has in fact been shown to improve symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate due to benign prostatic hyperplasia. Components in pumpkin seed oil appear to interrupt the triggering of prostate cell multiplication by testosterone and DHT. It is questionable whether eating the seeds whole in snack quantities, rather than taking therapeutic doses of the concentrated oil, would provide any prostate benefit.
In German folk medicine, the oil is also used to quell parasitic infestations such as tapeworms.
In Vietnam, consumption of relatively large numbers of seeds was seen to increase the evacuation rate of thread worms from the gastrointestinal tract.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Today's spotlight on Shakeology ingredient


GINGKO POWDER(LEAF) – Used to enhance a clear mind and improve the power of concentration, has been used to treat Alzheimer’s Disease, depression, impotence, memory, cognitive abilities, circulation problems and more!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Today's spotlight on Shakeology ingredient


ROSE HIPS – Rose Hips are useful in the treatment of influenza-like infections, diarrhea, and various urinary tract disorders, shown to be useful in the treatment of patients suffering from knee or hip osteoarthritis.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Today's spotlight on Shakeology ingredient


REISHI MUSHROOM – Reishi is used as a tonic to help increase energy, improve digestion and sleep, strengthen resistance to disease, and regulate the immune system. It is widely used to improve the cardiovascular system, lower HDL (the ‘bad’ cholesterol), and reduce excess fatty acids. Also, Reishi has been shown to prevent and treat hardening of the arteries, angina, and shortness of breath associated with coronary heart disease. Japanese doctors routinely prescribe Reishi for memory loss, insomnia, hyperlipidemia, chronic bronchitis, and a whole range of degenerative diseases of the elderly, including disorders associated with senility. There is some evidence to suggest that Reishi can help treat altitude sickness and chronic hepatitis B. It has also been used in chemotherapy and HIV support treatments.

BodyPump is coming to your home

So JUST announced the awesome fitness class that is offered at TONS of gyms all over the place, BodyPump by Les Mills will be coming to YOUR home as a workout program! Les Mills is teaming up with the AMAZING company Beachbody and they are creating this format in a at home workout program so the days you are unable to hit up the gym you don't have to miss your favorite class.
Les Mills BodyPump class



[/caption] A lot of people refer to this class as PUMP, it's one of the fastest ways to get in shape and students that take this class fall in love and even get addicted to this! The workout  challenges all of your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises such as squats, presses, lifts and curls and the KEY to this is something called  "THE REP EFFECT" (a breakthrough in fitness training focusing on high repetition movements with low weight loads.) So for those of you who have done ChaLEAN Extreme by Chalene Johnson ... this is like the opposite yet VERY affective concept.

Check out below what a normal class is like with Les Mills BodyPump format!

BODYPUMP Calorie Information

Friday, October 14, 2011

Today's spotlight on Shakeology ingredient


MAITAKE MUSHROOM – Maitake regulates blood sugar levels, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, reduces inflammation, and blood clots, may help boost immunity, fend off infections and fight cancer