Throughout the ages hungry hearts have been drawn to the ancient door of fasting. Although differing in language, beliefs and culture they all have one thing in common, a desire to change something deep within themselves.

Today, we now have available an abundance of information confirming fasting’s genius to cleanse and detoxify the body from years of unhealthy eating, boosting both the immune system and the body’s natural defenses from disease. Detoxification of the body is a tangible parallel of what is occurring spiritually during a fast. What is transpiring deep in the spirit is clearly depicted by what is occurring in the body. The body is cleansed from the by-products of a destructive diet while the spirit is cleansed from useless fleshy habits and addictions.

The beauty of fasting is its ability to exact powerful metamorphosis in a short period of time. Imagine if you were forced to remove all life’s little props. The coffees, pizzas, ball games, movies, Danishes. Forced to quiet your life down to the few things that really matter. Within days, years of fat melt away, mind calms, allowing deeper meditation and prayer. At first the pain of broken addictions is acute but short lived, usually ending in three days. As a weakened body releases its control over to the Spirit, peace and contentment replace a normally stressed and anxious state of mind. The rapidness of change on both body and spirit during fasting is a great encouragement to a soul weary of stagnation serving as an excellent launching pad to total transformation lasting a lifetime. Just when you thought there was no hope, self-confidence is rebuilt. Fasting exercises a weary will, developing new independence to a world clamoring to control you’re every thought and action.

For thousands of years people have walked the path of fasting. Jesus Himself fasted before striking out into His three-year ministry. God uses fasting as an open door into human hearts. He enters and brings about a great release.

If you have decided to fast, get ready. This will be the journey of a lifetime. The deepest part of you, tired and neglected, rising to meet God. And in Him there is healing and freedom.

I love windy days. Trees are given a voice; their great limbs swinging to-and-fro while I run below connected to a living dance. I have done this many times in my youth, and find myself doing so again. Freedom is a glorious feeling; we are created to be free. Those who are born of the Spirit are like the wind, compelled forward by an invisible force, not weighed down by flesh and bone or restricted by fear and doubt. Free to fulfill impossible dreams. This is God’s will for you and if you are reading this, you are counted among the seekers. And no matter how far down the hill of compromise you have slid, there is hope.

In this Fasting Center I present a balanced, safe approach, examining both the spiritual and physical impact of fasting. First-time fasters need not fear. Even if you have lived years on the standard toxic diet, done right, fasting is safe.

Banana facts that may surprise you.

After Reading THIS, you'll NEVER look at a banana in the same way
again!! Bananas. Containing three natural sugars -- sucrose, fructose
and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained,
and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two
bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.No
wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading
athletes.But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It
can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses, and
conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst
people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a
banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein
that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve
your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin
in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in
potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure.
So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the
banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to
reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped
through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and
lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the
potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help
restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without
resorting to laxatives.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you
suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing
the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it
amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous
system.

Overweight and at work: Studies at the Institute of Psychology in
Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like
chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers
found the most obese were more likely to be in high pressure jobs. The
report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to
control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods
every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal
disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw
fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It
also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the
lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling"
fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of
expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas
to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers
because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the
heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain, and regulates your body's water
balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby
reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of
a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine,
"eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of having a
stroke much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill
off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with
the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or
surgical tape! So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills.
When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice
the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A
and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in
potassium and is one of the best value foods around, so maybe its time
to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps
the doctor away!"

This week, two studies address this phenomenon — building on earlier research pointing to the same conclusion – that sleep loss “brings about physiologic changes in the hormonal signals that promote hunger and, perhaps thereby, obesity,” writes Jeffrey S. Flier, MD, with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, in his editorial in Annals in Internal Medicine.

The “simple goals” to get a better night’s sleep and more exercise “may well become a part of our future approach to combating obesity,” writes Flier.

But sleep loss is just one factor in weight control, senior researcher Emmanuel Mignot, with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Stanford University, tells WebMD.

“It’s certainly not the only factor. It’s not that sleeping two or three more hours will solve a weight problem. It’s one of many factors, and a factor that no one has looked at very much. It’s good that sleep loss is getting so much attention right now. It’s amazing what we’re discovering.” Mignot co-authored a study appearing in the journal Public Library of Science.

Just last month, another study came to similar conclusions — that chronic sleep loss triggers hormones that can lower the “appetite control” hormone leptin. Lower levels of leptin are associated with obesity. It’s what researchers call the “yin yang” of appetite control. The hormone ghrelin is produced in the stomach and triggers hunger. Leptin is produced by fat cells and signals satiety, telling the brain when we have eaten enough.

Mignot’s study investigated the effects of sleep loss on body mass index (BMI), an indirect measure of body fat. His was part of an ongoing sleep disorder study involving 1,024 Wisconsin state employees, all between 30 and 60 years old.

For researchers, this type of large-scale, ongoing study “is a good way to show that what you are finding applies to the general population,” Mignot tells WebMD.

Every four years, each volunteer came to a sleep laboratory for an overnight stay, with blood sampling and a check of BMI and weight. Every five years, each completed a questionnaire about sleep habits; they also kept a six-day “sleep diary.”

During the 15-year study period (since 1989) researchers found that short sleep was associated with low leptin levels. They show a 15% increase in ghrelin and a 16% decrease in leptin in people who consistently got only five hours of sleep.

“It shows that there is a regulatory problem,” Mignot tells WebMD. “In natural evolution, when you were more active, you needed to eat more calories, so you had this natural reaction that increased your appetite and your sleep.” Compare that with today, when people aren’t as physically active yet burning the candle at both ends, either in traffic or in front of the TV. Also, food is more readily available. All those factors have caused increase in weight.

Researchers also show an association between sleep duration and BMI. Those getting three hours of sleep had a 5% increase in body weight. “That’s not an enormous amount, but the effect might be underestimated,” says Mignot. “Still, it’s something we can do something about. It may be the reason why dieting has been so disappointing for so many people.”

In the second study, 12 healthy males in their 20s were studied to see how sleep loss affected both leptin and ghrelin levels. The young men got only four hours of sleep for two nights, then two nights of 10 hours in bed (average of 9 hours of sleep). Hormone levels were measured before, during, and after the sleep periods. They also completed questionnaires to assess their hunger and desire for different foods.

After a night of four hours of sleep, sleep restriction resulted in a 24 percent increase in hunger and a 23 percent increase in appetite, reports study co-researcher Esra Tasali, MD, a sleep specialist at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “If allowed to increase their food intake, they would likely eat an extra 550 calories a day,” Tasali tells WebMD, whose study appears in Annals of Internal Medicine.

As the sleepy guys got hungry, their food choices also changed. High calorie, high-carb foods were most appealing — sweets, and salty and starchy foods — after two nights of little sleep. Fruit, vegetables, and dairy products were at the low end of the craving scale.

“For normal, healthy, sedentary adults, that would result in significant weight gain,” she says. “Of course, under laboratory conditions, they didn’t have free access to food. But in real life, sleep restriction may be a previously unrecognized risk factor for this epidemic of obesity.”

Today’s sleep loss studies are “a good indicator of which way investigation should proceed,” Satya P. Kalra, MD, professor of neuroscience at the University of Florida in Gainesville, tells WebMD.

“It’s growing evidence that if you’re sleep deprived, there’s a human tendency to eat more — although that hasn’t yet been measured,” Kalra tells WebMD.

These studies of sleep loss “are very well controlled,” Kalra says. “They show we’re on the right track.”

SOURCES: Tahari, S. Public Library of Science, Dec. 6, 2004. Van Cauter, E. Annals of Internal Medicine, Dec. 7, 2004; vol 141: pp 846-850. Flier, J. Annals of Internal Medicine, Dec. 7, 2004; vol 141: pp 885-886. Emmanuel Mignot, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University. Esra Tasali, MD, sleep specialist, University of Chicago Medical Center. WebMD Medical News: “Sleep More and You May Control Eating More.”

A new nationwide survey shows at least one-fourth of successful exercisers have full-time jobs, young children at home, or both, and walking is the most popular form of physical activity.

The survey, conducted among more than 20,000 Consumer Reports readers, reveals the secrets of successful exercisers — those people who most closely meet the national recommendations for physical activity by exercising at least a half-hour per day at least three days a week.

The results show that sticking to an exercise routine doesn’t have to be boring or expensive, and it could be a lifesaver. For example:

—58 percent of successful exercisers report doing three or more different activities per week.

—30 percent of successful exercisers used a fitness facility or gym at least three times a week. More than half of those who worked out regularly used exercise to treat depression, a heart problem, back pain, or diabetes and said they and their doctors agreed that exercise helped a lot.

Experts say that to reap the most health benefits from exercise, you need to strive for at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, preferably spread out over five days. If you do, the health benefits include a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, and dementia.

However, if your goal is weight loss, you’ll need to aim for 250 to 300 minutes a week.

In the survey, which appears in the January issue of Consumer Reports, researchers polled 21,750 readers about their exercise habits.

Thirty-eight percent of the respondents were classified as “successful exercisers” and performed moderate to vigorous exercise for at least 30 minutes at least three days a week (usually more). That group includes 12% the researchers classified as “hard-core” exercisers who exercised at least five days a week and had kept it up for at least five years.

The survey showed that 36% were “unsuccessful exercisers” who did a little exercise but not enough to reap the health benefits. Many people in this group said they wished they exercised more regularly. Fifteen percent of the respondents were considered sedentary.

Researchers found walking was by far the most popular form of physical activity among successful exercisers. In addition, two-thirds of hard-core exercisers walked at least three days a week.

When asked how they fit physical activity into their hectic schedules and stuck to their routines, successful exercisers offered this advice:

—Get out of your car. Many said they walked or bicycled regularly to work. Others arranged their lives so that they could do errands on foot regularly, such as living within walking distance of a grocery store.

—Find activities you enjoy. You’ll be more likely to stick to a routine if you enjoy it. More than half of successful exercisers said they usually or always got “a feeling of joy or exhilaration” from their physical activity.

—Find time to exercise. Successful exercisers recommend working out at the same time of the day, finding a convenient location to exercise, and planning ahead to schedule workouts.

—Use weights. Successful exercisers of all ages were 10 times more likely to use free weights to build muscle strength than those who didn’t exercise regularly.

When starting an exercise program, researchers say it’s important to start slowly, and then gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workout. But the good news is that the survey results also show that once people get into the exercise habit, they naturally gravitate toward longer, more strenuous workouts.

SOURCES: Consumer Reports, January 2005: pp 12-21. News release, Consumer Reports.

How to do the Atkins Diet Right?
by Hristo Hristov

If you are doing the Atkins Diet, you might be doing it WRONG. I have been on diet forums for years, have consulted thousands of people on low carb diets, and I am seeing it again and again. People don't know how to implement a low carb diet. Very often people fail to lose weight or to adapt to the low carb life style. Many people give it up after a couple of days because they don't know how to do it right. The Atkins Diet is the most famous low carb diet, but it is full of pitfalls just waiting for you to walk into.

Rule 1: Calories DO count. You must count both carbs AND calories

Some of you may believe that losing weight is just a matter of reducing carbohydrates. In fact, many do. Hunting for hidden carbs and totally neglecting the calories you eat is setting you up for failure. The only reason that low carb diets work is that they reduce your appetite. You end up eating fewer CALORIES, and lose weight. The problem is that not all people start eating fewer calories after switching to a low carb diet. The only 100% bulletproof method of losing weight is by counting calories. Don't rely on simply reducing carbohydrates. Eat less carbs AND less calories. Count calories! It is much easier to restrict calories when you are on a low carb diet, because you won't feel as hungry as with high-carb diets.

Rule 2: Going straight to 20 grams of carbs per day is a NO-NO

The Atkins Diet has you eating only 20 grams of carbs a day during the first two weeks on the diet. After that, you are advised to gradually increase the number of carbs you eat. I strongly urge you to reverse the order of events. Start eating 80 or more grams of carbs per day, count calories and then reduce them more if you want to.

My reasoning for doing so is very simple. During the adaptation period you will lack energy because you have taken out the carbs, and you need time to make the fat burning enzymes to use more fat for fuel. If you suddenly start eating a super low amount of carbs, you will feel totally out of energy, because your body cannot manufacture quickly that many fat burning enzymes. However, when you reduce the carbohydrates GRADUALLY, you give your body a chance to adapt to the diet without the misery of being lethargic.

You can even start by eating 150 grams of carbs a day for the first week, and then reduce them to 100 grams for the second and so on. You won't be so fatigued, and because you count calories you are losing weight.

You should expect a period of about one to two weeks when you won't have much energy, but this will pass. Don't give up just because you lack energy. This is temporary. If you listen to me and gradually reduce the carbs, you will experience a much less-pronounced drop of physical and mental performance.

Rule 3: Calories control your bodyweight, NOT carbohydrates.

If you eat less calories than you burn, you are going to lose weight no matter how many carbs you consume. You don't need to go super low on the carbohydrates to experience the typical loss of appetite that is so important to be successful at dieting. I eat about 50-80 grams of carbs a day year-round, and I have single digit body fat %. That's because I control both carbs and calories.

You won't be able to eat just 20 grams of carbs for a long time. It is too impractical, hard-to-do and unnecessary. You will do fine eating 80 grams of carbs a day, as long as you count calories.

Rule 4: Don't give up your coffee

Atkins advises that you avoid caffeine and only drink decaffeinated coffee. This is totally unnecessary. If you are used to drinking coffee, just continue to do so. You will have a much easier adaptation period. Coffee makes your body burn more fat, and helps you adapt to fat burning faster. Coffee also suppresses your appetite, and has a mild thermogenic effect (you burn more calories). Last but not least, coffee is very addictive and hard to give up. I know a couple of people who gave up the Atkins Diet just because he says to stop drinking coffee! I am telling you - coffee will help your weight loss efforts. It is totally unnecessary to give it up.

Rule 5: Don't avoid milk and yogurt products

Eating plain yogurt is associated with weight loss for some mysterious reason. Researchers speculate that it is the Calcium in milk products that helps with weight loss. Whatever the reason, milk and yogurt are good for your health and weight loss. They have some carbs, but as I told you, there's absolutely no need to go super low on the carbs, if you control your calories.

Here's a little known fact, most low-carb dieters don't know. Plain yogurt has 3 times less carbs than labelled! The reason is simple. Yogurt has billions of healthy bacteria called probiotics, which thrive on glucose. These probiotics eat up the carbs in milk, and turn it into lactic acid. Now, when manufacturers measure carbs, they do so by the method of "carbs by difference". They measure everything else(protein, fats, water..), and what's left is ASSUMED to be carbs. But what's left is carbs + lactic acid. To know the real number of carbs in yogurt, divide the number of carbs on the label by 3. Do so only for PLAIN yogurt. Avoid all artificially processed and carb loaded yogurts. Eat plain yogurt!

Rule 6: A low-carb diet is a high-fat diet

By definition a low carb diet is a high-fat diet. Some people turn the low-carb diet into low-carb and low-fat diet. What a mistake! First, if you eat a high-protein low-carb low-fat diet, you are going to get hungry. Second, eating less fat will slow down the adaptation to fat burning and extend your misery. Third, your body needs fat and the fat-soluble vitamins to digest the proteins you eat. Without the fat you are going to get sick, upset your stomach and become severely constipated.

Women should be very careful to eat enough fat. Many women don't like to eat meat or eat only very lean meat. They must find a way to get more fat in the diet by ways of high-fat cheeses.

Fat should represent more than 50% of the calories you eat.

Rule 7: Don't be fooled by the quick initial weight loss

Most of the weight that is lost during the first two weeks on a restrictive diet is WATER. On a low-carb diet, you are going to lose even more water. The rate of weight loss is going to slow down after the first two weeks. Be prepared, it is perfectly natural to happen. Don't expect miracles.

Let's sum it up. Count calories. Hunting for hidden carbs, and neglecting the calories is a major reason for plateaus. Restrict carbs gradually. Eat more fat to control your appetite. Don't go super low on the carbs. Go as low as you feel comfortable. As long as you control calories you are on your way to success.

See Also:

Atkins Diet A review

Why Does the Weight Come Back?
If you want to keep the weight off you must develop a consistent change in eating habits to ensure you do not consume more than your body requires.

The # 1 Factor in Weight Loss and Fitness
What is the #1 "Most Important Factor" in determining how fit you became? Proper nutrition, cardio exercise, and weight training are all important factors, but it is your attitude that determines how hard you focus on each of those three areas. If you approach your fitness with a positive attitude, you ARE going to take the necessary steps to get in shape, even when it would be so much easier to stay in and watch TV.

10 Successful Tips for Weight Loss the Holistic Way
The Holistic Approach to Eating includes the whole person - with physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Its unique value is that it creates lasting results, because it gives you an opportunity to meet all of your needs in an appropriate way. After over 20 years of dieting, I was finally able to achieve and maintain my ideal weight permanently using this approach.

Hristo Hristov is the owner of X3MSoftware (http://www.x3msoftware.com), a company specializing in developing diet and fitness software. Hristo has a degree in Computer Science and passion for training.

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Your Weight-Loss Partner: Fiber Helps You Drop Pounds And Stay Healthy
Taste for Life - 1/1/2005
By: Linda Odum

In this world of low carb, high protein dieting, it’s easy to shortchange yourself on an important weight-loss aid. When you cut down on carbohydrates, you may also be reducing your daily fiber intake. This not only makes your weight loss goals harder to achieve, but it may also deny you important health benefits.

Hunger is the enemy of anyone trying to shed pounds. It’s hard to remind yourself how good you’ll look and feel after you lose weight when your stomach is trying to convince you otherwise. High fiber foods can help hold off hunger and food cravings.

The basic formula for losing weight is to eat fewer calories than your body requires, so you burn fat to make up the deficit. Foods low in fiber-desserts and a small portion. By contrast, high fiber foods-fruits, vegetables, and whole grains-allow you to eat larger portions for fewer calories. Equally important, these foods help you feel full longer.

For those already at a healthy weight, research suggests that fiber may help you stay that way. Investigators from the Harvard School of Public Health found that women who consumed fiber in the form of whole grains had a 49 percent lower risk of major weight gain over a 12-year period than women who primarily consumed refined carbohydrates. A new study shows similar results for men.

Other benefits? “Fiber slows down the absorption of foods, making you feel fuller longer,” says Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D, C.N.S, author of The Fat Flush Plan. “Without adequate fiber, up to 90 percent of cholesterol and bile acids will be reabsorbed and recirculated to the liver. This taxes your liver and reduces its fat-burning abilities. A sluggish, overworked live does a poor job metabolizing fat.”

During digestion, carbohydrates break down into sugar (or glucose), which enters the bloodstream. As blood glucose levels increase, the body produces insulin to help convert glucose into energy, lowering blood sugar to a normal level. These blood sugar spikes cause problems for anyone with diabetes (whose body does not produce enough insulin) or who is insulin resistant (where both blood sugar and blood insulin remain at high levels). High blood sugar levels can also cause the body to produce and store excess fat.

Fiber helps slow down carbohydrate digestion. This means glucose enters the bloodstream more slowly, discouraging fat production and lowering a person’s risk of diabetes and insulin resistance. One study suggests that psyllium is useful both for metabolic control and lowering the risk of coronary disease among people with Type 2 diabetes.

A common side effect of low carb diets is constipation. “On low carbohydrate diets people are not eliminating properly,” says Dr. Gittleman. “That concerns me more than anything else because we know that fiber reduces the time certain {toxic} substances spend in the intestines.”

Ideally, it should take the food you eat 12 to 18 hours to pass through the digestive system. For many Americans, it takes 72 hours or longer for this process to occur. This longer transit time allows pathogens to grow in the intestines and toxins to be absorbed from the intestines rather than being eliminated quickly.

Fiber helps keep waste transit times at an optimum level. This not only prevents constipation but also suggests that fiber intake helps prevent colon cancer. While medical research shows conflicting results as to fiber’s cancer-prevention abilities, two studies detailed in the Lancet support the theory that a high fiber diet can reduce the risk of colon cancer-in some cases as much as 40 percent.

Along with keeping your digestive system healthy and blood sugar on an even keel, fiber may also reduce the risk of heart disease. A number of studies, including one that followed more than 40,000 male health professionals, have shown fiber lowers the risk of coronary heart disease from 10 to 40 percent. Fiber from fruits and whole grains seems to offer the greatest benefit.

Your goal is to consume 20 to 35 grams of dietary fiber each day. Gradually increase you intake of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and whole grains in your diet. Eat fruit and vegetables whole, rather than drinking their juice, and trade in white rice, bread, and pasta for their brown, unrefined cousins. You can also add ground flaxseed to your favorite yogurt, cereal, or bread recipe for extra fiber. Just take it slowly.

Your favorite natural products store also has fiber supplements. Psyllium comes in capsule, powder, and hush form. Like flaxseed, psyllium works well for constipation and removing toxins from the intestines. Glucomannan, guar gum, and oat and rice bran are other fiber sources. Three things to remember when taking these supplements:

Drink more water as you increase your fiber intake to move it through your system.

To avoid lessening their effectiveness, don’t take a fiber supplement at the same time as medications and other supplements.

Over twenty-five years ago, a health-conscious friend shared an ad with me about the Parcells School of Scientific Nutrition in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The ad promised "five days that would change your life." Nothing could have been truer. After meeting Hazel Parcells, Ph.D., D.C., N.D., my life was changed forever. She inspired me to become a nutritionist with a foot in both clinical and holistic nutrition. Dr. Parcells was eighty-four years old when I met Her - and lived to the incredible age of 106. A true pioneer in natural medicine, she was a woman ahead of her time.

Under Dr. Parcells's masterful tutelage, I first became acquainted with several innovative concepts, many of which later became the foundation of my Fat Flush Plan. The first revelation was the surprising connection between weight loss and the liver. I recognized early on what researches are only now beginning to understand - that not only is the liver the main organ for detoxifying pollutants and chemicals in the body, but this vital organ also is a hidden key to effortless weight loss.

Based on simple biochemistry and the charts from Gray's Anatomy, I learned first hand that one of the best kept secrets to weight loss and lasting weight control is keeping the liver, the key organ for fat metabolism, in tip-top shape. For example, bile, which is synthesized and secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, helps the liver break down fats. Bile cannot do its job, however, if it is lacking certain nutrients that make up the bile salts or if it is congested or thickened with chemicals, toxins, excess sex hormones, drugs and/or heavy metals.

So I researched all the "liver loving" foods and nutrients that would enable the body to produce quality bile and aid in thinning it out. Since one of the primary ingredients of bile is lecithin - a highly effective emulsifier with a detergent-like ability to break up fats - I decided to experiment with adding lecithin-rich eggs to my daily diet. Soon, the addition of fresh lemon juice and water - a well-known bile thinner - followed suit twice a day. Not only did my own cholesterol come down (a good 20 points to be exact), but so did my weight.

Just to make sure I was onto something, I enrolled thirty of my clients in a six-week dietary exploration and instructed them to add at least two eggs daily to their current diet regimens and to add lemon juice and water twice a day - without changing anything else in terms of diet or exercise. Without exception, they all lost weight, especially around the waistline. In fact, one woman lost 21 pounds over the six-week period. I instructed the group to avoid caffeine and medications (including over-the-counter drugs) as much as possible because I suspected even then that these "drugs" were especially toxic to the liver.

Today, light is finally being shed on this vitally important organ. Many laboratories specializing in functional medicine testing offer a liver function test to determine how well the liver's two distinct detoxification pathways, the cytochrome P-450 phase I and phase II detoxification enzymes, are working. An individual ingests caffeine, Tylenol, and aspirin, and then specimens of saliva and urine are taken and analyzed to assess how well the liver is breaking down these substances.

The liver's two detoxification pathways are responsible for breaking down, eliminating, and neutralizing toxins. In this petrochemical world of ours, the sheer number of toxins we ingest from medication, drugs, pollutants, and pesticides can overwhelm the liver's ability to break them down and deactivate them. In addition, the detoxification pathways can become drained of the antioxidants, enzymes, and other nutrients necessary for detoxification because of the overload. The resulting metabolic by-products of incomplete detoxification are often more poisonous to the body than the original toxins.

The April 2001 Consumer Reports on Health provided an extremely helpful list of medications and herbs that can harm the liver with long-term use. The list include common medications (such as ibuporfen); cholesterol-lowering drugs (such as Lipitor); antidiabetic drugs; triglyceride-lowering drugs; anticonvulsants; estrogens used to treat menopausal symptoms (such as Premarin and Ogen) and those used in birth control pills (such as Lo/Ovral and Triphasal); and the herbs chaparral, comfrey, and pennyroyal.

The bottom line is that with so many toxins being dumped into the bile, its storage, concentration, production, and ability to digest fats are seriously impaired.

Another valuable insight I learned from Dr. Parcells was that cellulite - that dimpled accumulation of stored fat on our thighs and buttocks - was more connected to a sluggish lymphatic system than to poor muscle tone or weakened connective tissues. The lymphatic system, a relatively unknown secondary circulatory system underneath the skin, rids the body of toxic wastes, bacteria, heavy metals, dead cells, trapped protein, and fat globules. In essence, the lymphatic system is the garbage disposal of the body.

These concepts were so innovative back then that Dr. Parcells was the only one talking about them. After her ideas on the liver and the value of cleansing began to take root, researchers (for example, Sandra Cabot, M.D. in Australia) and American doctors (for example, Leo Galland, Kenneth Bock, and Elson Haas) started to write about them. Parcells would have been proud to know that in 2001 - nearly five years after her death - a well-respected cardiologist from Philadelphia, Gerald M. Lemole, M.D. came out with a book called The Healing Diet, which links lymphatic system health with overall wellness.

Thanks to Dr. Parcells, I was given a head start in learning about the importance of cleansing both the liver and the lymphatic system for effective weight loss and cellulite control.

Discovery: The Role of Fat-Burning Fats
Another major piece of the weight loss puzzle fell into place during my tenure as director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica, California. In the early 1980s, Pritikin diet was widely credited with being the model for the low-fat, high carbohydrate diet prescription. At the center, as well as later in private practice, I found that many women following this type of program were complaining about distressful premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms and other health ailments. I began to study their diet and health histories, hoping to find some underlying patterns.

For the most part, I found that they were loading up on unlimited fat-free complex carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, crackers, potatoes, corn, and beans. I discovered that the more they overate wheat-based carbohydrates (in particular, pasta, bread, cereal, and crackers), the more they craved them - and the more they seemed to become depressed. And these high amounts of grains were somehow contributing to their bloating - along with all that fat-free milk and yogurt they used with cereal. The unlimited use of fat-free but yeast-relation seasonings such as soy sauce, tamari, tomato sauce, and oil-free vinegar dressing s of every persuasion added insult to injury. Of course, the reason they were overusing these kinds of seasonings was that their zero-fat meals lacked any real flavor.

As it turned out, these same women were the ones complaining about retaining fluid, feeling tired and cold, and having allergies and recurring yeast infections, in addition to severe PMS. Therefore, I recommended a highly touted gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) - rich supplement known as evening primrose oil, used widely by European doctors for PMS-related problems. And this is when the unexpected happened. Besides eradicating their symptoms, these also experienced a welcomed side benefit - weight loss.

The GLA fat-fighting connection. Although generations have used the evening primrose plant for its many medicinal and healing properties, the oil in the seeds - containing the powerful GLA - was making a splash in the weight loss arena. In fact, it was through research conducted by David Horrobin, M.D., at the University of Montreal, and M. A. Mir, M.D., a senior researcher and consultant physician at the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff, Great Britain, that helped me realize how the right kind of fat stimulates the body's metabolic ability to burn fat. Their work demonstrated that evening primrose oil was most effective for those who were overweight by at least 10 percent. The key to this calorie-burning mechanism appeared to be the way the GLA-rich evening primrose oil worked via the prostaglandin pathways, a network of hormones that control virtually all body functions at the cellular level.

The GLA found in evening primrose oil mobilizes the metabolically active fat known as brown adipose tissue (BAT). This special form of fat, if available in sufficient amounts, can burn off extra calories and boost energy. BAT is a special insulating kind of fat found deep within the body that surrounds your vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, and adrenal glands. It cushions your spinal column as well as the neck and major thoracic blood vessels.

The series I prostaglandins created from GLA are believed to regulated many aspects of metabolism. GLA-induced prostaglandins regulate BAT by acting as a catalyst to either turn it on to trigger calorie burning or turn it off to trigger calorie conservation. Prostaglandins are also connected to a metabolic process referred to as ATPase. ATPase is also known as the sodium pump, a biochemical process necessary to keep the right amount of potassium inside cell walls and too much sodium out. GLA-rich substances such as evening primrose oil, by means of prostaglandin activity, control the sodium pump, which in turn revs up metabolism.

Based on mounting evidence the essential fatty acids are important to overall health - from studies that started to appear in such prestigious medical journals as the New England Journal of Medicine in the mid-1980s - I published my first book, Beyond Pritikin. Released in 1988, the book became a best-seller. It featured a chapter entitled "The Two-Week Fat Flush" that, as I look back, was really the origin of today's Fat Flush Plan. I inserted this program in my book as an antidote to the high-carbohydrate, high-grain-based, yeast-rich, fat-free diets of the era. It contained a one-day sample menu and touched on liver cleansing for more efficient fat metabolism. The diet featured the GLA supplements I had worked with in my private practice.

In 1996 I updated Beyond Pritikin and altered the Two-Week Fat Flush by replacing the safflower oil component with omega-3-rich flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil works much like GLA but helps the body burn fat even more efficiently by increasing the production of a certain groups of prostaglandins or eicosanoids, as they were called in the 1990s.

When Beyond Pritikin came out, my private practice in California grew, and soon people everywhere were resonating to my message that essential fats where absolutely necessary for rapid weight loss, longevity, and good health.

Discovery: Excess Insulin and Fat Storage
By the mid-1990s it was becoming increasingly clear to me that the public finally was ready to accept my finding that a low-fat diet isn't good for you because of the emergence of yet another piece of the weight loss puzzle: Fat-deprived, carbohydrate-stuffed individuals were realizing, due to the popularity of such books as The Zone (Regan, 1995) and Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution (Evans, 1992), that they were seriously jeopardizing their weight loss attempts because of the insulin factor. A fat-free diet, low in protein but high in carbohydrates (even the highly touted complex carbs) keeps insulin levels elevated, which promotes fat accumulation since insulin is a fat storage hormone.

Thankfully, insulin awareness has ushered in a brand new era of balanced nutrition and has legitimized the return of insulin-lowering fats and proteins to America's dining tables. The Fat Flush formula of healthy fats, lean proteins, and slow-acting (low-glycemic) carbohydrates is right on the low-insulin track.

Discovery: When Fat Is Not Fat and the Stress-Fat Hidden Factors
I learned about the remaining weight loss stumbling blocks through my most dependable sources - you (my readers) and clients. Time and time again I was finding that even when some of my clients were doing everything else right, they still couldn't lose weight. Thanks to the nutritional assessment questionnaire and food diary record sheets I had every client fill out, a pattern began to emerge. I discovered that many of those who were resistant to weight loss had a history of long-tern use of birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), antidepressants, and other medications as well as hidden food allergies. In Chapter 2 you will learn that this kind of weight gain is really not fat per se but rather severely waterlogged tissues masquerading as fat.

In addition, I noted from my client's assessment forms that those who had the hardest time losing weight were also those who were the most stressed out. They were living on caffeine (from 2 to 4 cups daily), juggling home and career, definitely not getting enough rest (four to six hours daily), feeling "on edge" most of the time, and reporting an increase in food cravings and fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area. I suspected that the adrenal glands - our "fight or flight" glands that produce hormones in response to stress - were intimately connected to the stress-fat cycle. And I had a very strong hunch that I could disrupt this cycle with some simple changes in lifestyle habits.

So I honed the Fat Flush Plan to include stress-relieving protocols (such as exercise and journal keeping) that would zap the stress trigger and accelerate weight loss. Probably the most vigorous stress-busting dietary suggestion was to increase protein - at least 8 ounces or more of poultry, fish or lean meat - because the body has higher protein needs when it is under stress. Just by adding another couple of ounces of protein to lunch and dinner, I had elated reports form clients who were dropping two dress sixes in two weeks - at last.

You may be asking, "What about other hidden weight gain factors like low thyroid or chronic dieting that throw the body into a metabolic slowdown?" I believe that these are also valid but secondary to the five hidden factors I have defined and outlined above.

DESTINATION: A NEW BODY AND A NEW YOU
In Chapter 2, I explain how hidden weight gain factors can sabotage your weight loss goals. It has been only in the last few years that my understanding of the scientific basis for the Fat Flush Plan has come together. For over a decade I have been collecting the latest studies, research, and books (which are referenced in the back of this book) that have helped to substantiated my Fat Flush discoveries.
Finally, there is an answer for someone like you, like me, like all of us.

FIVE HIDDEN WEIGHT GAIN FACTORS
We learn wisdom from failure, much more than from success; we often discover what will do by finding what will not do and probably he who never made a mistake, never made a discovery.

Your struggles with weight are not the result of simply too much food and too little exercise. A myriad of unsuspected elements come into play. Before wee look more closely at these, take this Quick Quiz to put your own lifestyle in focus.
YES/NO

Do you drink caffeinated beverages daily? _______ _______
Are you taking antidepressants or prescription or over-
the-counter drugs? _______ _______
Do you eat margarine or foods made with hydrogenated
(solid or semisolid) fats? _______ _______
Do you take birth control pills? _______ _______
Are you on estrogen-or hormone-replacement therapy? _______ _______
Did you take antibiotics two or more times during the
past twelve months? _______ _______
Do you avoid fat at all cost (e.g. by eating fat-free
yogurt and fat-free cookies)? _______ _______
Do you often crave sweets, bread, or other high-
carbohydrate foods? _______ _______
Do you eat pasta, potatoes, bread, or other carbohydrates
two or more times daily? _______ _______
Does at least one meal a day contain processed and/or
packaged foods (e.g., frozen entrees or
luncheon meats)? _______ _______
Do you eat fewer than two servings of protein (e.g.,
meat, eggs or fish) daily? _______ _______
Do you drink fewer than eight 8-ounce glasses of
water daily? _______ _______
Do you regularly sleep fewer than 8 hours a night? _______ _______
Do you lead a high-stress life? _______ _______
Do you frequently skip a meal because you are "too
busy to eat"? _______ _______
Would you describe your lifestyle as sedentary? _______ _______

If you answered "Yes" to even one of the these questions, read on to learn how you may be unknowingly sabotaging your efforts at weight control and what you can do to make a difference.

If you are like most people, the Fat Flush Plan is not your first attempt at weight loss. You've exercised, counted calories, and cut out fat, then protein, and now even carbohydrates. Perhaps you lost weight; perhaps not. Chances are you've regained most, if not all, of the pounds.

For thousands of individuals, the Fat Flush Plan has been different. They've lost pounds and inches and kept them off. I believe this is so because the plan, unlike any other weight loss program, targets the five hidden factors mentioned in Chapter I that bring on unwanted pounds:

How do these factors really affect your weight? Over the past several years, I have followed the research and, in some cases, the work of the nutritional pioneers who spearheaded these breakthroughs to answer this question. If you are like most of the Fat Flushers who have followed my work, when you understand some of the no-nonsense reasoning and the science behind the plan, you'll march confidently toward your ultimate success.

HIDDEN FACTOR #1: YOUR TIRED, TOXIC LIVER
Poets and songwriters may wax poetic about the heart, but your liver is by far the most versatile organ in your body and one of the most important. Weighting between 2.5 and 4 pounds in adults, the liver is the largest internal organ as well. Between 3 and 4 pints of blood flow through it every minute.

The Vital Liver
Researchers now estimate that the liver performs nearly 400 different jobs. It is the body's most important organ, functioning as a living filter to cleanse the system of toxins, metabolize proteins, control hormonal balance, and produce immune-boosting factors. Many of these functions are essential to your overall health, for example, the liver's synthesis of fibrinogen and other blood-clotting factors to protect you when you are injured. However, other liver functions have a direct bearing on your weight loss efforts, and these are the focus of the Fat Flush Plan.

A Fat-Burning Machine. Each day your liver produces about a quart of a yellowish green liquid called bile that emulsifies and absorbs fats in the small intestine. Bile contains water, bile acids and pigments, cholesterol, bilirubin, lipids, lecithin, potassium, sodium, and chloride. The liquid is stored near the liver in the gallbladder, from where it is transported to the intestine as needed during digestion.

Bile, as briefly discussed in Chapter 1, is the real key to the liver's ability to digest and assimilate fats. It can be hampered from doing its job because of a lack of bile nutrients, congestion, or even clogged bile ducts, which hamper bile flow and result in less bile production. If there is not enough bile produced, fat cannot be emulsified.

If you have a roll of fat at your waistline, you may have what is commonly called a "fatty liver". Your liver has stopped processing fat and begun storing it, for reasons I'll explain in a moment. Only when you bring your liver back to full function will you lose this fat.

An Efficient Metabolizer. The liver metabolizes not only fats but also carbohydrates and proteins for use in your body. The organ has a triple role in carbohydrate metabolism. First, it converts glucose, fructose, and galactose in glycogen, which it stores. Second, when your blood sugar level drops and no new carbohydrates are available, the liver converts stored glycogen into glucose and releases it into your bloodstream. Third, if your diet is regularly low in carbohydrates, the liver will convert fat or protein into glucose to maintain your blood sugar levels.

The liver converts amino acids from food into various proteins that may have a direct or indirect impact on your weight. Many proteins, for example, transport hormones through the bloodstream; as you've read, hormone balances are crucial to avoid water retention, bloating , and cravings, as well as other health problems. Proteins also help transport wastes, such as damaged cholesterol and used estrogen and insulin, to the liver for detoxification and elimination through the kidneys.

A Potent Detoxifier. Perhaps the liver's most important function, and the one that puts it at greatest risk for damage, is to detoxify the myriad toxins that assault our bodies daily. A toxin is any substance that irritates or creates harmful effects in the body. Some toxins, called endotoxins, are the natural by-products of body processes. For example, during protein metabolism, ammonia is formed, which the liver breaks down to urea to be excreted through the kidneys. Other toxins you consume by choice, such as alcohol, caffeine, and prescription drugs (more about these later). Still others are the thousands of toxic chemicals we breathe, consume, or touch in our environment: pesticides, car exhaust, secondhand smoke, chemical food additives, and indoor pollutants from paint, carpets and cleaners, among others. Under ordinary circumstances, your body handles toxins by (1) neutralizing them, as antioxidants neutralize free radicals, (2) transforming them, as fat-soluble chemicals are transformed to water-soluble ones, and (3) eliminating them through urine, feces, sweat, mucus, and breath. Working with your lungs, skin, kidneys, and intestines, a healthy liver detoxifies many harmful substances and eliminates them without contaminating the bloodstream.

The detoxification process has two phases that should work in close synchronization.

Phase 1 uses a group of enzymes to break apart the chemical bonds holding the toxins together. Known as hydroxylation, phase 1 makes some toxins more water soluble and temporarily more chemically active.

Phase 2, known as conjugation, attaches other enzymes to the chemically altered toxins, or intermediates. These enzymes complete the conversion of the intermediates, producing substances that are nontoxic, water-soluble, and easily excreted.

Your liver is a workhorse that can even regenerate its own damaged cells. However, it is not invincible. When it lacks essential nutrients or when it is overwhelmed by toxins, it no longer performs as it should. Hormone imbalances may develop. Fat may accumulate in the liver and then just under the skin or in other organs. Toxins build up and get into your bloodstream. Among the signs of "toxic liver" are:

When your liver is sluggish, every organ in your body is affected, and your weight loss efforts are blocked. Blood vessels enlarge, and blood flow becomes restricted. A toxic liver is unable to break down the adrenal hormone aldosterone, which accumulates to retain sodium (and water) and suppress potassium. This can raise your blood pressure. The liver fails to detoxify the components of estrogen (estrone and estradiol) for excretion, so symptoms of estrogen dominance arise. Unable to carry out its activities to control glucose, a toxic liver can lead to hypoglycemia, which can produce sugar cravings, weight gain, and Candida overgrowth. Fluid accumulates, and you may develop one or more autoimmune diseases such as lupus or arthritis. A liver overloaded with pollutants and toxins cannot efficiently burn body fat, and thus will sabotage your weight loss efforts.

How to do the Atkins Diet Right? by Hristo Hristov

How to do the Atkins Diet Right?
by Hristo Hristov