Thursday, October 08, 2009
Can You Get Fit & Burn Fat By Eating Certain Foods?
Friday, January 11, 2008
A Choice of Obesity
At MenScience, we're constantly reading up on new health topics and claims to get the most information on men's grooming, men's skincare and men's health. And the men's topic we come across again and again is obesity. But whether you think it's a disease or a condition--one of the biggest health risks for men or completely blown out of proportion, there's a new voice in the obesity argument. A new book, The Fattening of America: How the Economy Makes us Fat, If It Matters, and What to Do About It, claims that more and more Americans are becoming obese as a lifestyle choice. Due to the dwindling emphasis on physical labor in our society, and better treatments and medications for obesity, the author Eric Finklestein makes the point that more and more Americans choose to live a lifestyle that promotes obesity. This eyebrow-raising claim has been causing controversy among medical professionals and those who are obese alike, but as reported in an article at Yahoo News, "Finkelstein says he wrote "The Fattening of America" to "encourage discussion of what I understand is probably an uncomfortable position for a lot of people."We're firm believers in the gospel of regular fitness, balanced nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, but this leaves even us scratching our heads. Is obesity a disease? Or a conscious choice men make? What do you think? Labels: balanced diet, diet, Fattening of America, fitness, healthy lifestyle, men's health, men's nutrition, obesity, overweight, weight gain
Thursday, October 11, 2007
New Book Raises Controversy About The Way We Think of Diet and Nutrition
 If you've ever browsed the health aisle of a bookstore, you have a pretty good idea of the huge amount of information available covering almost every facet of health, eating and nutrition. More and more of these books are published everyday, pushing new ideas about nutrition to the forefront, and causing yesterday's advice to fade into the background. With all this "nutritional help" available, why are men still dealing with a growing weight problem? Gary Taubes proposes to shed a different light on the answer in his new book, Good Calories, Bad Calories. Although the book has caused plenty of eyebrows to lift by heaping even more blame on carbs for increased weight problems and revealing that the "obesity" crisis actually comes down to a small increase of body mass index, Taubes's main point seems to be that our ideas of nutrition and weight gain are based on scientific information that has not been thoroughly tested or proven, and has simply been accepted by us as "fact." Taubes is getting plenty of heat for his strong views (some say he tends to omit contradictory health studies of the past), and he's gained plenty of attention for this new approach to nutrition (he's been featured in Men's Journal, ABC News, and the New York Times last month alone). But what do you think about Taubes's concept? Is there anything wrong with re-thinking the facts of nutrition? Or is it just another book to add to the growing mountain of literature offering yet another "health fix" for the average man? Labels: body, carbohydrates, diet, dieting, exercise, fat, fitness, get fit, health, heart health, men's health, men's nutrition, men's weight loss, weight gain, weight loss
Friday, October 05, 2007
Get Fit By Eating Well
Staying fit and losing some pounds can be a daunting task for men. Because of this, MenScience has prepared a set of no-nonsense tips that will have you looking good and feeling great. 1. Try eating several small meals throughout the day. This controls appetite and keeps your metabolism going. 2. Don't starve and then binge. Skipping meals could end up promoting more fat storage and lowering your metabolism due to fluctuating insulin and blood sugar levels. 3. Set regular mealtimes and stick with them. Once your body comes to expect a meal at the same time everyday, it's easier to avoid sudden cravings and snack attacks. 4. When hunger strikes, make sure you've got some healthy snack options available to you (this is a great way to get in your 5-9 servings a day of fruits and vegetables). 5. Protein is more filling than simple carbohydrates and has fewer calories, so be sure to include fish, lean beef and pork, white-meat poultry, eggs, nuts and beans in your diet. 6. Reduce serving sizes and eat a wider variety of food. Don't deny yourself your favorite foods...just consume them in moderation. 7. Avoid drinks that contain calories and stick to water instead. Many men don't realize that beverages are often loaded with empty calories and don't accommodate for them with their meals. 8. One simple way to avoid packing on calories is to use more spices in your food and less condiments like mayonnaise, butter and sour cream. 9. Eat slowly so your body gets a chance to register the food and you won't end up eating more than you should. Eat until you feel satisfied; not stuffed. Check out more tips on weight management in the Tips & Advice section on www.menscience.com. Labels: calories, diet, exercise, fitness, get fit, men's health, men's nutrition, weight loss
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Case Against Liquid Lunches
 Everyone knows your body needs hydration for optimal performance, especially during sweaty, summer months. But a new study might have you reassessing how much beverage you should actually drink. According to a study performed at Purdue University in Indiana, subjects who "drank" a controlled lunch of specially-prepared liquid test foods ended up consuming more calories than those that ate a solid food-and-water meal. The study concluded: All three groups consumed the most total calories on days when a meal supplement was liquid (be it milk, watermelon juice or coconut milk), consuming 12 percent to 20 percent more calories than on solid-food days. Professor Wayne Campbell says that prior studies have measured feelings of hunger but it has been "a leap of faith to believe that feelings of hunger correspond to the amount of calories consumed." This experiment stands out, he says, because calorie intake was directly measured---revealing that people drinking liquid foods later consumed more calories even though they had reported feeling just as full. More calories are absorbed through beverage-drinking because the body does not recognize beverages as an actual food source. After all, "people may get up to to 50 percent of their calories from beverages -- but for most of human history, the only beverage was water. The idea that liquids contain nutrients, Campbell says, is one our bodies aren't yet aware of." And you thought that double-chocolate milkshake was the only danger to your health. DG Labels: calories, calories in beverages, diet, men's health, men's nutrition, nutrients, weight loss
Friday, July 06, 2007
The Ins and Outs of Vitamins
 More and more men are turning to vitamins and supplements to help them have more energy, feel good and maintain a healthy lifestyle. But sometimes it's easy to get lost in the virtual sea of ingredients available in the supplement aisle of health & wellness stores. To shed some much-needed light on the benefits of different types of ingredients, as well as the dangers of taking too many different kinds of supplements or taking too much, The Houston Chronicle recently ran an article, The ABCs of Vitamins, that provides a pretty informative guide to supplementation. For even more information about the correct usage of supplements, see the MenScience articles How to Include a Supplement in Your Diet and The MenScience Nutritional Philosophy. So are vitamins and supplements necessary for a healthy lifestyle? What supplements are you taking right now? Is there a real danger in taking too many? DGLabels: body building, calories, diet, fitness, heart health, men's health, men's nutrition, nutrients
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