This month your favourite newsletter is even better! We've added a new section to The MuscleTalker as from this issue. Check it out below - Book Reviews.
Each month a member will write a review on a bodybuilding, fitness or nutrition book, video or DVD, and we will add a link to where you can purchase it from. The review will then be added to our Book Reviews section for you to view alongside some other great reviews. If you have a book, video or DVD you'd like to review for The MuscleTalker, please email the review to me at james@muscletalk.co.uk for consideration in a future issue.
Tell your friends about MuscleTalk. Why not ask your gym owner if you can put the MuscleTalk Poster up at your gym?
Have you got your MuscleTalk T-shirt yet?
*** Best Wishes from James and The MuscleTalk team! ***
See you at www.MuscleTalk.co.uk
*** Garlic Breath is good for you! ***
By Kitty - MuscleTalk Pro-Member
Many people avoid eating garlic because of the smelly breath and body odour associated with it. However, it has many health benefits and can be an excellent preventative medicine.
Garlic belongs to the Allium class of vegetables that also includes onion, leeks and chives. These contain allyl sulphides that are responsible for the characteristic taste and smell. Garlic has been used for some time as a health product, mainly for antiseptic and cardio-protective properties. Allyl sulphides have an anti-bacterial effect (even against helicobacter pylori) and inhibit the conversion of nitrate to nitrite in the stomach. Nitrosation of some amines, amides and proteins can be carcinogenic; therefore inhibiting this transformation also incorporates cancer preventative measures to the list of benefits.
Studies have also shown that even taken in powder form; garlic can reduce serum cholesterol by up to 12%, with up to an associated 13% reduction in triglycerides whilst having little effect on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels.
Other benefits are:
- Cold medication (decongestant and expectorant)
- Anti-spasmodic
- Anti-inflammatory
- Immune boosting
- Relieves gas
- Anti-diarrhoeal
- Diuretic properties
- Mood enhancing
- Calming effects
Raw garlic is claimed to be better for fighting bacteria but cooking is said not to remove the blood thinning and cardio-protective properties, nor the anti-cancer properties. Sautéing is said to be the better form for a decongestant.
References:
Food, Your Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper (ISBN 0671 03735 8)
Human Nutrition and Dietetics by JS Garrow et al (ISBN 0 443 05627 7)
** James Collier BSc (Hons), Registered Nutritionist offers personalised nutrition programmes through email tailored to YOUR needs. For more information see: www.muscletalk.co.uk/james.aspx or email: james@muscletalk.co.uk
*** Sleep ***
By Cliff_vtr - MuscleTalk Pro-Member
(Ok so it's not strictly a 'training' article this month! But, since sleeping well is crucial for good workouts, just read the article and stop moaning!)
** Why Do We Sleep?
It is not entirely clear why we need to sleep, however it is thought that sleep allows the body to repair old or damaged tissues and gives the brain a chance to archive its thoughts. It's also known that our immune system is boosted during sleep. Sleep is necessary for our survival, just like eating and breathing, without sleep we would die. The amount of sleep you require is different for each person but on average an adult requires around 8 hours. A sign that you are not getting enough sleep is if you feel drowsy during the day or you fall asleep very quickly when you go to bed.
** The Stages of Sleep
You may think that during sleep your brain is dormant but actually the brain is very much active during sleep. There are five stages we go through during sleep. Once the last stage is complete the cycle restarts. Each successive cycle lasts longer than the previous one and an average person will typically cycle go through 5 cycles.
Stage 1 - Drowsiness: Muscle activity slows down by around 50%. People awakened during this stage are usually unable to recall the last few minutes before they fell asleep. This sleep-related form of amnesia is the reason people often forget conversations they have had in the middle of the night. This stage typically lasts 5% -10% of the cycle.
Stage 2 - Light Sleep: Breathing and heart rate show a slight decrease. Body temperature also drops slightly. The body is now preparing itself for deep sleep. This stage typically lasts for around 45%-55% of the cycle.
Stage 3 - Deep Sleep: The brain begins to generate slow delta waves and it will be hard to awake a person at this stage. This stage typically lasts for around 5% of the cycle.
Stage 4 - Very Deep Sleep: This is like stage 3 but more intense, brainwaves are slow periodic waves of high amplitude. There is no muscle or eye activity, however it is during this stage and stage 3 that people can sleep walk. If awakened from deep or very deep sleep you will feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes. This stage usually lasts around 15% of the cycle
Stage 5 - REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep: This is the stage in which we dream. Heart rate and breathing both increases, our eyes start to jerk about (hence the name REM) yet the rest of our muscles become paralysed. It's thought that our muscles are locked so that we don't do ourselves any harm whilst dreaming. If awakened at this stage you will often be able to recall your dreams. This stage typically lasts for around 20% - 25% of the cycle.
** The Effects of Sleep deprivation
Thinking slows down with lack of sleep, not only during the night, but also the next day. As well as disturbing your thinking patterns, it weakens your body, making you more susceptible to disease. Without sleep, you will be less efficient and more irritable. It's not just people who stay up late once in a while who are affected by sleep deprivation. People who don't receive enough sleep on a daily basis are incurring sleep deprivation, even if it's just 30 minutes a day. These people build up a sleep debt and typically it's people who wake up with an alarm clock who are incurring a sleep debt. The size of the sleep debt you have is directly related to the amount of lost sleep and the only way to pay it back is by sleeping.
** Beating the Record
In January 1959, Peter Tripp, a DJ in New York wanted to break the world record for not sleeping. A group of sleep psychologists and doctors agreed to help him stay awake for 200 hours. After a couple of days into the experiment Peter started to experience hallucinations, as time went by the hallucinations got worse, and it seemed that his brain made up for the loss of sleep by dreaming while he was awake. Worse than that, the doctors started to notice that Peter's mental state was deteriorating. Although he was walking around and talking to people, Peter's brainwave patterns showed that his brain was actually in a deep sleep. After it was over, Peter took a long sleep, and awoke refreshed and it seemed like he had returned to normal, but gradually became apparent that his personality had changed forever.
*** September's Recipe - Protein Natural Yoghurt ***
By Dannyboy - MuscleTalk Pro-Member
** Ingredients
450g pot of probiotic natural yoghurt
1 heaped tbsp lecithin granules
2 heaped tbsp linseeds/flaxseeds
1 scoop (about 20g) protein powder - any flavour
** Method
You need to eat a few spoonfuls of the plain yoghurt to make room inside the pot to mix! Mix all ingredients in thoroughly and scoop about to spread the ingredients around. It goes very stodgy when left in the fridge, due to the linseeds swelling up but is still manageable
** Information
This is a healthy variation to get your protein down! Not only is it high in quality protein but it is also high in omega3 fats, contains probiotics and is full of an array of vitamins and minerals
More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in the 'Muscle Menus', 'Muscle Menus 2' and 'Muscle Menus Vegetarian' eBooks:
*** Book Review - Flex Ability: A Story of Strength and Survival - Flex Wheeler & Cindy Pearlman
Review by seungmena aka Big Les - MuscleTalk Moderator
An interesting story about Ken Wheeler, the man behind Flex the bodybuilder. The book details Ken's childhood and the emotional scars it left, and how his near fatal car crash nearly finished him for good.
Flex Ability is a story of overcoming odds so awesome that most people would have just given up and called it a day. It is an intriguing and informative insight into the very private man behind the Flex persona. Hardcore bodybuilding fans should beware that the book skips lightly over issues that loomed large in the sport at the time. What is unforgettable is how Uncle Joe treated Flex after the car crash, and the inner struggle that defines both Flex and Ken Wheeler.
The articles in The MuscleTalker are for information purposes only and are the sole expressions of the individual authors opinion and are those not necessarily shared by the owners of www.MuscleTalk.co.uk