How Diet may affect your cancer risk

This is the first of a two part post.  I have been reading bits and pieces of the American College of Sports Medicine's Guide to Exercise and Cancer Survivorship.  In this post I am going to translate some of the information about diet and cancer risk from Medicalese into plain english.  The second part will focus on how exercise can affect your cancer risk.

Interesting fact: some researchers believe that an unhealthy diet is contributing to approximately 35% of the cancer deaths in the US.  If this is an accurate piece of information in means that unhealthy eating is contributing factor in as many cancer deaths as tobacco use.  So, to start off it is time to discuss the two major dieting trends that may influence cancer risk: Sugar and fast food.   Hopefully, that statement is not a shocker.  Basically, the thought here is that these unhealthy foods lead to weight gain.  There are specific forms of cancer that are thought to happen, at least in part, by excessive body fat.  Specifically, high-sugar foods have been linked to colorectal cancer.  At this point, a definitive reason is unclear, but research is showing that those who consume excessive amounts of sugar are at a higher risk than those who do not.  Furthermore, people that consume high fat diets are at higher risk for  lung, breast, colorectum, and prostrate cancer.  The best evidence for this seems to come from women who have survived breast cancer; those who stay on a low fat diet are less likely to have a recurrence and have longer survival times than those who do not.  In addition to this, diets high in saturated fats tend to be more consistent with fatal cases of prostrate cancer.  In case you did not get it before, eating healthy is not just about looking good, it may prevent or save suffering from terrible disease.

So what are good foods?  Fruits and Vegetables; I read a statistic from the CDC a couple of weeks ago that said only 30% of Americans get the daily recommended servings of fruit and vegetables.  Personally, I find that number to be of no surprise, 60% of Americans are overweight or obese.  I wonder if there is a link in there somewhere?  Alright, sarcastic moment over.  Vegetables, particularly those high in lycopene, like tomatoes, have been shown to reduce risk of recurrence or prevent of prostrate cancer.  Also, from what I read, it is too early to be certain, but increased vegetable intake seems to be linked to longer survival of ovarian and advanced lung cancer for those who have had these types of cancer.  The three most commonly accepted reasons for this is that fruits and vegetables boost immune function, reduce inflammation, and encourage healthy cellular growth.

Do you get enough fiber?  Here is the easiest way to tell, and please be adult about this, fiber for floaters.   When you go does it float?  A lack of flotation is sign number one that fiber intake is too low.  Sign number two is, how often?  At least once a day and with flotation; then a person is probably getting enough fiber.  High fiber intake specifically helps reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.  The thought line here is simple, the sooner the waste leaves the body, the less time it has to pile up in the intestines, the less damage it can do to the intestines.  Fiber does this in a few different ways that I don't want to describe here.  It gets things moving so, no pun intended, ok pun intended, go with that.  Remember, the body is getting rid of it because it will not do the body any good.  Sorry about the metal images, oatmeal anyone? Alright, moving on.

Red meat and processed meat have gotten a lot of bad rap for their high fat contents.  I am not convinced that red meat by itself is going to be a direct contributor to cancer growth, provided that a person eats an appropriate amount of calories and maintains a healthy weight.  Personally, I just do not enjoy beef all that much, so I do not eat a lot of it.  However, processed meat, anything that: has salt added, smoked, cured, or other chemical preservatives seem to be strongly linked to colorectal cancer.  Sorry, but this whole "western" diet of high fat meats, sweets, french fries; it does more than just make buying bigger clothes a necessity.  If this is a concern, try ground turkey instead of beef or pork.  It is much leaner, and, in my opinion, better tasting.

Alcohol gets mixed reviews.  Mainly the conflict is between people wanting to have fun and the survival of their livers, mouths, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and colorectum.  To be clear, alcohol, in small amounts does not appear to cause cancer regardless of what it may do to personal judgement abilities and sense of responsibilities.  However, small amounts are, well small amounts, it seems like anything more than two glasses of wine or hard liquor per week or more than about four beers can greatly increase the risk of cancer.  Anymore than that can become problematic and it would seem that any form of alcohol consumption, if cancer already exists, dramatically reduces the chance of survival.

So what should a person eat to increase the odds of preventing or beating cancer?  Food that are low in saturated fats, high in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.  Here is a list of, what I think are the ten best cancer preventing foods to eat, how often a person should eat them, and portion sizes.  Please note that, for these foods to be of the most benefit, the foods should be eaten as close to the way they are found in nature as possible.  Adding preservatives, sugars, or frying removes the benefits of eating these foods.  Portions sizes are before cooking or preparation.



Food Frequency Minimum Frequency Ideal                        Portion Size
Blueberries Twice per week Every day                                        1/2 cup
Oatmeal Four times per week Every day                                        1/2 cup
Flax Seed Three times per week Every day                                        1 tbsp
Almonds Twice per week Three times per week                        24 nuts
Spinach Once per week                            Twice per week                               1 cup
Sweet Potatoes Twice per week Three times per week                        1 med potato
Salmon Once per week                             Twice per week                               4 oz
Ground Turkey Once per week                             Anytime instead of beef or pork         4oz
Broccoli Once per week                             Twice per week                                1 cup
Grapes Twice per week Three times per week                        1 cup

Meal under 400 Cal-pork chop and sweet potato fries

Here is a meal that my wife and I eat almost weekly.  The whole meal is under 400 calories, if you follow the guidelines exactly it will have only about 15g fat, 35g carbs and 15-20g of protein depending on the size of the pork chops..

Ingredients:
 4 center cut pork chops or 6 thin cut
1-16oz container of french's fried onions
1 egg
3 or 4 medium sizes sweet potatos
2 tbsp seasoning salt
2tbsp cinnamon
1tbsp chili powder
Zero calorie non-stick cooking spray
2-9x13 nonstick pans or glass dishes
2 bowls

Preheat the oven to 400F and start the prep work on the potatoes.  Begin by peeling and cutting the potatoes into fries.  Hopefully, you have a fry cutter to speed along the process, but a knife will work.  Once the potatoes have been peeled and cut place them into a large freezer bag or plastic container.  Add in the seasoning salt, cinnamon, and chili powder.  Shake the bag or container until the fries are evenly coated.  Spray down the pan with the cooking spray, throw in the fries, spread them out evenly, and spray the top of the fries down.  Then place the fries in the oven.  From the time the fries are in the oven bake time will be 50-60 minutes for the whole meal. Stir the fries every 15 minutes.  NOTE: the fries will be soft, not crunchy like a fried french fry.  These fries are baked and will have more a soft texture when done.

After the fries are cooking, trim off all excess fat from the pork chops.  Crack the egg into one bowl and put the onions into the other bowl.  Dip the pork chops in the egg, coating both sides.  Then place the chop in the bowl with onions, coating both sides.  Then place the chop in the other pan or dish after spraying it down with the cooking spray.  Repeat this process for all the chops.  If you want, but you do not have to, pour any remaining egg over the chops and the coat with any leftover onion.  Place in the oven until cooked.  This will probably be about the same time the fries are done.

High Intensity Interval Training

High Intensity Interval Training is becoming the new fitness phenomenon for do-it-yourself training styles.  The fast-paced, high intensity style of workouts takes strength training and conditioning exercises and amps up the pace to create a cardiovascular effect through an increase in heart rate.  This is the best of the both worlds: muscle-building strength training and fat-burning cardio endurance.

HIIT is an evolution of circuit training, which in and of itself, is a take on interval training done for cardio workouts.  Interval training breaks up the monotony of  traditional long duration, low intensity cardio exercise by mixing in high intensity sprints for a short duration.  This is done periodically throughout the workout at a 1:3 or 1:2 work to rest ratio.  Circuit training follows this same concept but mixes weight training exercises, usually done on machines, with interspersed forms of cardio.  Most fitness facilities have designated circuit area that alternates machines with something like steps.

HIIT goes a step further than this in that it adjusts the work to rest ratio to be heavier on the work and lighter, if any rest.  Work to rest ratios for HIIT are often 1:1, 2:1, or 3:1.  Extremely challenging HIIT eliminates rest completely.  HIIT is also made more challenging by the fact that it rarely incorporates machines.  Instead it relies upon barbells, dumb bells, and a person's own body for the resistance.  It also typically performs a given exercise for a defined time period instead of specific number of repetitions. Say for  one minute each a person would perform three different exercises than rest for exactly one minute than repeat the cycle. The completion of HIIT is defined as either completing a certain number of rounds of the workout as quickly as possible. Or it is defined as completing as many rounds as possible in a certain time period.  So you could complete five rounds of a given group of exercises as quickly as possible or you can complete as many rounds as possible in say, twenty minutes.

Several benefits to HIIT training:

1)  Time efficient- work at a hard enough pace and a person can burn more calories in 15 minutes of HIIT than jogging on a treadmill for an hour.  Some research has shown that it is possible to improve aerobic capacity (the efficiency of your metabolism and use of oxygen during exercise) as much or more than a person could in six to eight weeks of traditional cardiovascular exercise.

2) Like interval training does more calorie burn than steady-steady cardio, HIIT burns more calories than traditional weight-training.  Translation: faster fat loss.  From personal experience I would say that this is a faster way to lose body fat than doing cardio.  Oh, and because the intensity is so much higher your metabolism stays faster too.

3) An increase in Human Growth Hormone, a naturally occurring hormone of the body.  High levels of HGH are vital to achieving and maintaining weight loss.  Some research has shown that HIIT raises HGH levels by as much as 450% for up to 24 hours after a workout.

4) Fat loss is almost exclusive as the only type of weight loss with this training.  The reason is simple: because of the strengthening exercises done.  The recovery response of the body is primed to maintain and improve lean muscle.  This combined with the high intensity of the exercise melting off body fat results in quick fat loss.

5)Training the heart to maximum effect.  Most people do not train hard enough to have an anaerobic effect.  That is, pushing so hard that you are breathing to fast to carry on a conversation with a heart that feels like it trying to break out of your chest.  Training this at this intensity pushes the limits of the body, setting new levels of endurance while improving strength at the same time. Train hard enough and it is possible to double your endurance time for lower intensity exercise in as little as eight weeks.

6) Did I mention body weight?  As in body weight resistance, this type of training can be done using nothing but your own body for resistance.  Strengthening, conditioning, and endurance all improved with no need for equipment!  This makes for amazing convenience, no equipment needed! Just find somewhere with enough room to move,  an incredible challenge!  People who perform this style of training become fitter, faster than those who perform weight training only or cardio only.  Ever heard of Crossfit?  As in the Crossfit games? The brand name is famous.  The method is HIIT.

Now, how to put together a HIIT workout?  Here is a simple method.  Below you will find three different columns, A, B, C.  Column A are exercises that require dumb bells or barbells.  Column B are body weight exercises.  Column C are cardio vascular exercises.Take one exercise from each column.  Pick a time frame anywhere from thirty seconds to two minutes.  Perform each of those exercise for the chosen time frame.  Do not rest until you have completed each exercise for the specified time frame.  The rest period should be the same length of time, or shorter, than the time of each exercise.  Do not rest longer than the time period of the individual exercises. Pick any where from four to twelve exercises and one form a cardio exercise.  Note that column B and C can be interchangable exercises to really ramp up the intensity.  You can use any number of exercises these are some samples.  If you are unsure of how to perform one of these exercises ask a trainer or staff member at your fitness center.  Also www.nsca.com has good instructional videos for the exercises in Column A.  Good Luck!

Column A                                                          Column B                                               Column C
Back Squat                                                       Jump-squat                                            Jumping Jacks
Dead lifts                                                          Box Jumps                                             Mountain Climbers
Bench Press                                                        Burpees                                                  Knee Tucks
Shoulder Press                                                   Push ups                                                  Jump Rope
Dumbbell Rows                                                  Pull ups                                                   Run in place
Power Clean                                                       Plank                                                       Froggers
Squat-Press                                                      Crunches                                                     Sprint

Sample Workouts:

Perform each exercise for one minute, rest for one minute,  go all the way through the list before starting again, complete three rounds:
Workout one                      Workout two
Back Squats                       Power clean
Burpees                              Pull ups
Jumping Jacks                    Jump rope
Rest                                   Bench Press
Shoulder Press                   Plank
Jump-Squat                       Jump rope
Mountain Climbers            Box Jumps
Rest                                  Rest


Perform the given number of repetitions for each exercise before moving to the next exercise, complete as many rounds as you can in any time frame of 10-45 minutes

Workout one                           Workout two
pull ups 5                                 Power clean 4
jump-squats 10                        Squat-Press 5
mountain climbers 15               Bench Press 6
push ups 20                             Dead lift 7
knee tucks 15                         Shoulder Press 8
crunches 10                            Dumb bell Rows 9
box jumps 5                           Jump Rope 50

Five things to improve your fitness plan

This post is going to discuss five different things that you should consider implementing or changing about your current exercise program.  Or, if you are not already exercising, some guidelines to follow to make that new program more effective.

1) Walking on the treadmill will not cause significant weight loss.
You have probably heard that walking is good exercise, and it is.  I am not knocking the idea of walking as a form of exercise.  I just want to help you better understand what is accomplished by walking.  Walking is great for improving blood flow throughout the body.  It is excellent at helping reduce blood pressure.  Over time, it can help reduce your heart rate and make the heart stronger.  But it will not result in significant weight loss because it is not an intense enough form of exercise to burn enough calories to achieve weight loss.  Think about it... a person walks wherever they go, unless they are in a car.  If walking burned enough calories to cause weight loss would another 20 or 30 minutes on a treadmill at the gym, on top of all the walking that you do getting around all day, really be necessary?  Walk to improve blood pressure and heart rate, but don't be shocked when walking on the treadmill does not change your pants size.

2) Too many crunches
There is a simple reality of the healthy lifestyle: abs are made in the kitchen not the gym.  Add to that, crunches are the most over-rated ab exercise ever.  Here is why:  there are primary three muscles that comprise the area that most people think of when they picture "six pack abs."  The first is the rectus abdominus.  This what you visualize when you think of abs.  These muscles are primarily trained by any type of crunching exercise.  The second set of muscles are the internal and external obliques, these muscle run along the side of the abdominal are from the bottom of the ribs to just above the pubic area.  These muscles are only trained through rotating the upper body, so; no twisting motion, no training the obliques.  The third muscle is the transverse abdominus muscle this muscle is located underneath the rectus abdominus.  This muscle is responsible for tightening the abdominal region of the body.  Think about the tension created if someone were to try to punch you in the stomach.  That tension is the transverse abdominus flexing.  The best way to train this muscle is through plank exercises.  You want to create that 'sucking in the gut' feeling because that is exactly what this muscle does.  So, three different muscles, three different motions.  There should be three different types of exercises for an abdominal workout.  Oh, do not train abs every day, that is a myth.  The abs are like every other muscle group; they need time to recover.  Just train them two or three times a week and clean up that diet.  You will never see them without it.

3) Heavy weights, no form
ATTENTION WANNA BE BODYBUILDERS and those who learn exercises by watching these people.  Lifting all the weight in the world does not do you body a lick of good if you sacrifice proper form in exchange for more weight.  Regardless of what exercise you are doing, regardless of sets or reps, or the type of program you are doing; IF YOU LOSE FORM IT IS A WASTE OF TIME!  Proper form will do more for you both in that workout and in the long run than slinging around weight.  If you are not sure if your form is proper than as a trainer to check it.  Most of us a decent enough people that we would gladly take the time to prevent you the injury that will eventually happen.  Also, on the rare occasion that one of us approaches you without your request; be quiet and listen.  No respectful trainer gives unsolicited advice unless they see a person about give themselves a trip to the hospital.

4) No Body weight training
Perhaps one of bigger mistakes people make is not using their own body weight as a form of resistance.  Training with weights is great but every once in a while, mix in some body weight stuff; push ups, pull ups, squats without weight, plyometric training.   Really, who cares how big and strong a person is if they have to take a 2 minute break for every set of weights.  Exercise is about making yourself move better, and easier.  Occasionally doing body weight exercises is the best way to insure that the brawn does not exceed the stamina.

5) Too much time
Alright now who really has time to spend 2-3 hours every day exercising?  Unless you are a collegiate, professional, or Olympic caliber athlete, you do not and do not need to.  Or, you have the time, to which I say get a girlfriend! Or boyfriend, as case may be.  An effective workout for the average gym-goer should be over and done in one hour and a half or less.   That includes a warm-up, training, and cool-down, followed by stretching.  Personally, I rarely train more than an hour a day but, I live in gyms 45-50 hours a week at least. If it takes longer than that you are resting too much; the pace is too light and the intensity can come up.  This goes for weight training.  On cardio days, follow the same rule unless you are training for an endurance event that will take longer than an hour to complete.  Otherwise, get in, get it on, go home, go live life!

Blood Pressure and Exercise

Here is a summary of the topic discussed during my 07/13/2012 guest appearance on the Dave Elswick radio show.  You can tune in almost every Friday afternoon starting at 4pm CST in Central Arkansas or online at www.karnnewsradio.com.  Remember to always consult your doctor before beginning any kind of exercise program.  Follow all guidelines that the doctor gives you!

The topic from this show is Blood Pressure Response to resistance exercise.  The information presented here is a combination of my own knowledge as well as some specific research findings from an article by Wayne L Westcott, Ph.D that appeared in the April-June 2012 ACSM's Certified News, a publication for fitness and health professionals.

This is important information to understand, because, as Dr. Westcott states over one-third of Americans are hypertensive, aka, High blood pressure.  Every time the human heart beats it pushes blood through the arteries and delivers it to wherever in the body it is needed.  The veins return blood to the heart.  Think of it like your commute, the arteries take you to work, the veins bring you home.  The blood pressure is the measurement of the force that is exerted upon the walls of the arteries by the blood as it moves through the body.  Systolic Blood Pressure (the first number) is the measurement of force when the heart beats.  Diastolic blood pressure is the measurement when the heart relaxes in between beats (the second number) For people that are hypertensive there are two main concerns regarding blood pressure and resistance training: 1) it may lead to a quick and unsafe rise in blood pressure levels during exercise and 2) this could result in a permanent rise in resting blood pressure levels.

However, research has shown that proper weight training with hypertensive people, can lower blood pressure after a minimum training period of two months.  Blood pressure responds to exercise in two ways, acutely, during an exercise session, and chronically, over a period of time.  Acute responses in various studies have shown that hypertensive people can lift weights using at 75% of a 10 repetition maximum without seeing an unsafe rise in blood pressure.  A 10 rep max is the heaviest amount of weight that can be lifted with perfect form, no more than 10 times.  Use 75% of that weight to stay within the safe ranges.  It has also been shown that hypertensive people who lift extremely heavy weights at or around 95% of a 1 rep max  can spike blood pressure as high as 320mmHg during the leg press exercise.  The recommended safe max for blood pressure during exercise is 250mmHg and should not be approached by anyone who is hypertensive.  Staying below this, resistance training is usually safe for hypertensive people.

Chronically, resistance training helps to lower blood pressure, again research seems to indicate a minimum of two months of training before any significant change has taken place.  Regardless of age, everyone who resistance trains will see a reduction in blood pressure over time.  This is good, the lower your blood pressure is the less difficulty and effort your heart has to put out to keep you alive.  It appears that resistance training at least twice a week will bring about improvements in blood pressure levels.  Better results occur when training three times a week.  Between two different studies, young and middle-aged adults averaged a drop of about 7mmHg in resting blood pressure levels with some middle-aged people dropping by as much as 13mmHg.  Older adults averaged between 3-5mmHg drops in resting blood pressure.  Overall, it seems that the average person's blood pressure can be expected to drop about 6mmHg at systolic measurements and 4.7mmHg at diastolic measurements.  Reducing blood pressure is entirely possible with resistance exercise.

Now three exercise tips for hypertensive people:
1) Never perform a maximal lift as long as you continue to be considered hypertensive, that is never try to lift as much weight as you possibly can for 1 repetition.  This will cause a drastically unsafe rise in blood pressure.
2) Never perform the valsalva manuever, which is most commonly associated with maximal lifts.  The valsalva manuever is performed by holding one's breath and contracting the abdominal muscles to force a maximal lift or extra repetitions once fatigue sets in.  Holding your breath combined with this extra effort will cause dangerous rises in blood pressure the symptoms are often experiences as lightheadedness, dizziness, seeing spots, and extreme cases, passing out. DO NOT DO THIS!
3) Control your breathing.  Proper breathing techniques will go along way towards controlling blood pressure while resistance training.  On every repetition of every exercise exhale while performing the part of the motion that requires exertion and effort.  Inhale when reversing this motion to return the weight or machine to the starting position.  Exhale the effort Inhale the ease

Remember to always consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program.  Stay safe and live the healthy.

The Introduction

I think that it goes without saying that no person intentionally tries to make their life harder.  Yet when it comes to a person's health, more often than not, people continually make choices that making living healthier harder.  I know because I used to be one of those people.  Before college, before an education, before spending the last five years making my living as a personal trainer, I was an obese teenager, tipping the scales at 260lbs.  That is a lot of weight on my 5'8" body.  Since making the transition to living a healthy life, and losing over 100lbs on my own, I have had the opportunity to work with many people following the same pursuit.  Most have been successful, a few have not.  Some have not given up and are still in the hunt. Those who have been truly successful at a change like mine did not view healthy living and exercise as a fad but as a life change.  I call this blog Born Again Fitness because to me that captures what fitness and healthy lifestyle is all about: claiming responsibility and control of your health.  For someone like myself, that had to lose that kind weight to be healthy, it is literally a new lease on life, you have a new beginning, almost like being born a second time.
I am not going to claim that I have all the answers but I have learned more than I thought possible, not just about exercise, nutrition, and all of the science surrounding the field. But, also about myself.  I consider fitness, not to be a way to occupy  few hours of time each week, but a lifestyle. I have had the opportunity to work with obese people, people who could be fitness models, athletes, diabetics, people transitioning from physical therapy into regular exercise programs, people in wheel chairs and many more.  I have been fortunate enough to become a frequent guest on the Dave Elswick radio show 102.9FM in Little Rock or www.karnnewsradio.com
My hope is that you will find my story inspiring and the information applicable to you in your own pursuit of living a healthy lifestyle.  It confronting the flaws within yourself and working to overcome them will probably be the most daunting challenge of your life.  But the rewards are well worth the lessons and hard work.  Remember, despite whatever setbacks may occur, no one ever fails until they give up.