Antioxidants Improve Recovery from Exercise and Build a Better Body!

by Michael Geary


I'm sure by now you've heard all about the amazing health benefits of antioxidant rich foods in your diet. Not only do these free-radical fighting antioxidants help you look and feel younger by slowing down the aging process, but they also help to prevent cancer, heart disease, and loads of other degenerative diseases. But that's not all. Antioxidants also help you to recover better from exercise...and that means more muscle and less fat on your body in the long run!

The function that antioxidants play in aiding your recovery from exercise is the inhibition of free radicals produced during exercise. Any time you workout, free radicals are produced in the body that damage muscle tissue. Having an adequate supply of antioxidants about an hour or so before your workout can greatly reduce the muscle damage caused by free radicals, hence, improving your muscular recovery from exercise.

Some of the most potent sources of whole food antioxidants are berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries), cherries, acai fruit, various teas (green tea, white tea, black tea, and red tea - a.k.a. rooibos tea), nuts, seeds, red and black beans, purple potatoes, grapes, red wine, cinnamon, and dark chocolate or cocoa. Don't be fooled by all of the intense marketing for expensive antioxidant supplement pills...remember whole foods are always better for you (and cheaper) than a pill.

My favorite pre-workout antioxidant-loaded snack is a piece of whole grain toast with almond butter, a small amount of blackberry jam, and topped with a pile of fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries. I wash it down with a glass of iced green tea or rooibos tea sweetened with just a small bit (about a teaspoon) of raw honey. This is literally a quintuple-whammy of potent anti-oxidants! The almond butter, blackberry, blueberries, raw honey, and the green or rooibos tea are all loaded with different varieties of muscle protecting, youth promoting antioxidants. I throw down this snack about an hour before my training. Give it a try for yourself, or be creative and come up with your own antioxidant-rich pre-workout snack based on your tastes.

Remember, your body is continually bombarded every day by free radicals (creating oxidative stress) from exercise, air pollution, smoke, sun exposure, junk food, exposure to chemicals, etc. To reap the full benefits of antioxidants, try to make sure that every meal and snack you eat has at least one or two sources of antioxidant rich foods. This will give you a continuous supply of antioxidants throughout every day to prevent damage from the free radicals you are constantly exposed to.

Antioxidants are just one piece to the puzzle of a healthy diet that will give you the lean, muscular, youthful, and disease-free body that everyone wants. To discover the secrets behind all of the other pieces to the diet puzzle that create a lean body (macronutrient profile, glycemic response, hormonal response, glycogen storage, muscle protein synthesis, the role of leptin, the insulin process, etc.), please visit http://truthaboutabs.com


About the Author
Visit http://truthaboutabs.com/Training-and-Nutrition-Articles.html to receive your own personalized metabolic rate calculator as well as 4 of my secret hard-body workout routines - both FREE, with no purchase necessary.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of "The Truth about Six Pack Abs" ©2004-2005.

Love In The Big Apple

by Yolanda Shoshana


Finding love in New York can be a daunting task. So daunting that there are times when I just can't handle the thought of it. Therefore, I stay home snuggled up with Chinese food and a movie instead of prowling around town. The only problem is one cannot ignore all the singles columns, singles events, singles headlines, it goes on and on. I begin to feel guilty that I am not doing my part to find Mr. Right. On any given night one can go to a singles event in the city. But why should I go to an event to have a watered down drink and a piece of celery for $20 plus dollars? For those of us who hold out, there just may be a light at the end of the tunnel of love.

Recently there have been columns written about being finding love in unconventional ways, such as in the city streets. Some women are totally cool with a guy walking up to her in the street to ask her out and others think it is creepy. I find that interesting. Isn't it the same thing as a guy walking up to a woman in a bar at a singles event? He sees what he likes; he walks over, and gives his best line in the hopes of reeling the woman in. In cases where a person walks up to someone on the street it may be even more sincere than the usual meet market environments. I am not saying not to use caution. If someone looks like an ax murderer, chances are he just may be. Run don't walk.

The other way to find love that is creating a buzz is on the subway. Being so close to people, it is hard not to bump into a hottie or two on a train. Even I am guilty of taking advantage of a crowded subway to get a little close to a hot guy (I only did it once). There was talk of making singles cars on the subway. Imagine the possibilities. Recently the L train was voted at the best train to find that special someone. As cheesy as I am, I thought it was sweet that it was the L train. The L train could be turned into the "Love Train". I grabbed my metrocard to head for 14th Street to get myself a man. As I got to my door, I had a thought. I remembered that the L train is filled with artists and musicians. Does one really want to hook up with a poor artist? I already have that covered; my man might need to be a breadwinner. Reality set in and I put my metrocard down to pop in a movie.

What I know for sure is that New York is a city filled with lots of singles looking for their special someone. There is someone out there for everyone. It helps to be open and ready at any given time because one never knows when love will strike. If only I knew for sure which train I need to be on.


About the Author
Yolanda Shoshana (Shoshi) is a life designer, social artist, speaker, and writer focusing on women's issues. She produces and hosts the talk show, Schmoozin' with Shoshi, bi-weekly on Mondays on Channel 56 in Manhattan. For more info: yolandashoshana.com

Have great holidays and an Happy New Year

First of all, I want to wish you great holidays, and a New Year full of joy, happiness, love, health and prosperity.

I also want to share with you some calls we made about MonaVie and the Acai berry. Click here to access these calls: http://www.monavie.com/audio/

To try the product and improve your health, go to http://www.mynewsuccess.com/healing/acaiberry.html

We also have weight management products available there, under the Shop Online tab, in the Forever Fit category.

Till the 9th of January, I'll refund 10% on all retail orders that are placed. Just let me know that you placed an order. I'll verify the information in my virtual office, and then either paypal, stormpay or mail you the refund.

Have a great day,

Stephan