Sunday, November 30, 2008

A daily commitment, the most important prayer

Last Sunday at my church (before Thanksgiving, but just as relevant now) our pastor was on vacation and the pastor Emeritus, pastor Bob ran the service. He's retired and generally does things a bit slower. But I find his sermons are very meaningful and actually look forward to the message (not to take anything away from our normal guy - he has some great one-liner jokes now and then ;).

But the lesson, it actually derived from the children's lesson, which they get before going to Sunday school class started with a question. What was the most important prayer Jesus taught? Some clever people said the Lord's Prayer, which is a pretty good answer. But Pastor Bob argued it was his prayer of thanks.

The prayer of thanks was so important because Jesus prayed it every day before the sun came up and every evening before bedtime. He thanked God for all the things in prayer for the day to come and the day gone by. Twice a day, every day.

Bear with me, but I think our daily exercise affirmation has a similar effect. If you rise in the morning and spend some time thanking your body (and/or God if you believe in it) for your health, and preserving your temple, it becomes a central positive force in your wellness. Your mind, your immune system, your blood, your muscles, your endocrin (hormonal) systems - they all improve! It's very different working out once or even twice a day from 3 or 4 times a week. It becomes a part of life and a driving force for preventative health, in mind and body, in a similar way to the daily affirmation of thanks did for Jesus in spirituality.

Anyway, I thought that lesson kind of spoke to me in a special way so I thought I'd share it.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Fast food link to Alzeimers?

Wow - potentially powerful discovery with respect to Alzheimer's - this Swedish study bears watching.

Apparently mice who were fed fast food got conditions which can lead to Alzheimer's.

While the most advanced drugs have focused on removing clumps of beta amyloid protein that forms plaques in the brain, researchers are also now looking at therapies to address the toxic tangles caused by an abnormal build-up of the protein tau.

In her research, Akterin focused on a gene variant called apoE4, found in 15 to 20 percent of people and which is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's. The gene is involved in the transport of cholesterol.

She studied mice genetically engineered to mimic the effect of the variant gene in humans, and which were fed a diet rich in fat, sugar and cholesterol for nine months -- meals representing the nutritional content of fast food.


Those clever Swedes, always looking out for human issues ....

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Nice numbers

Got my yearly physical and one area I was very curious about was blood lipid (cholesterol) numbers. I've always been interested, not because I have tremendously high numbers but because I do have some family members who had cardiovascular disease in the past.

After doing P90x (exercise and nutrition) and taking the test in October, I received the results in the mail.

Total cholesterol: 135
Triglycerides: (<150 is good): 56 [!)
HDL (>40 good): 47
ratio total cholesterol/HDL (<4.5): 2.9
LDL (<160): 77

Compare this with some of my other numbers from past (worst was 2001/2002):

2002
Total: 202
triglycerides: 116
HDL: 43
ratio: 4.7
LDL: 136

2001
Total: 191
Tri:256
HDL: 38
ratio: 5.0
LDL: 102

Thanks to Tony and Beachbody, I'm at much less risk for cardiovascular disease!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Roosta bars

Cross posted from beachbody forums - it's a homemade protein bar! I tried this one and it came out pretty good! I might add some sweetner like a tbsp or two of agave syrup or something. My next step is to make my own protein whey by adding cocoa to pure whey - something good like Ghiradelli or something.

It comes out thick - check out the picture:



18 scoops Optimum double rich chocolate whey powder
3/4 cup skippy natural PB
1.5 cups quaker dry oats
3 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp flax seeds
3 cups nestle carnation dry milk
1 cup chopped almonds
1.5 cups of water

Mix altogether until evenly blended. Spread out onto about a 14x11 cookie sheet (will need something to be sure it doesn't stick - I used wax paper with some oat flour). Flatten to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. Refrigerate overnight. Cut into even pieces and put in ziplock bags - store them in fridge until snacktime. - my last batch made 22 - the larger you cut them = the larger the serving!!!

The total calories are 5458, protein 604g, carbs 332g, fat 203g.

If you make 22 bars here is the breakdown:

1 Bar = 248 calories, 27g protein (53%), 15g carbs (29%), 9g fat (18%).

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Indian black bean burrito recipe

Saw this and had to share it - sounds great. I found that funny spice also at my local grocer.

Link

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Bird opens tomorrow

One of the earlier openings in recent years ...

They've had over 35 inches of sweet Ootah pow in the past few days. Nice - hopefully a sign of great things again (like last year). Got to get my sticks waxed (and bought/sold - got a little dealing to do hopefully to tweak my quiver ;).

Link

2008-11-05 — Snowbird Announces 2nd Earliest Opening Ever

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SNOWBIRD, UTAH – Continuing the tradition of offering the longest ski season in Utah, Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort will open Friday, Nov. 7. This year’s opening marks the second earliest start to a season in the resort’s 38-year history.

“This storm and the subsequent lake effect have provided a timely blanket of snow in Little Cottonwood Canyon,” said Snowbird President Bob Bonar. “Skiing early season powder is a great way to kick off the season.”

Monday, November 3, 2008

Cranberries benefits

There has been recent work at my alma mater WPI by Terri Camesano showing cranberries have several beneficial roles in disrupting E coli bacteria (which are harmful in the human digestive system).

a group of tannins (called proanthocyanidins) found primarily in cranberries affect E. coli in three devastating ways, all of which prevent the bacteria from adhering to cells in the body, a necessary first step in all infections:

* They change the shape of the bacteria from rods to spheres.
* They alter their cell membranes.
* They make it difficult for bacteria to make contact with cells, or from latching on to them should they get close enough.


So drink your juice and eat your cranberries this Thanksgiving!