Tips and Tidbits March 2012

Training Tip of the month:

Twisting Stretch

Start: Sit on the floor with your legs extended and together. Rotate your body slightly to the right. Facing you, your partner straddles your body just at your thighs. He then places his left hand and left knee under your shoulder. He also loops his right hand under your right shoulder and grasps the inside of his right knee with his right hand.

Stretch: Straightening his right leg and bending his left leg, your partner then pulls up your torso, twisting your body to the right. This position is held for ten seconds. Repeat the stretch for the left side of your body.

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Tips and Tidbits – February, 2012

Training Tip of the month:

Quad Stretch

Start: Stand next to a bench or other piece of sturdy gym equipment. Bend your right knee. Holding your right ankle, bring your bent leg behind you. Position your ankle so that your instep is secured against the equipment. For balance, hold on to the equipment.

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January 2012 Tips and Tidbits

RECIPE Spotlight

Egg White Quiche

Created by Parrillo customer Nick Barela

Preheat oven to 400º. Prepare 2 cups of instant brown rice and cook per directions with four tablespoons of

CapTri®. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly mix the following:

• 2 cans of green beans or
• 2 cups of fresh green beans
• 12 egg whites
• Handful of fresh spinach
• Handful of fresh broccoli
• 4 to 8 diced jalapeno peppers
• 2 cups of cooked instant brown rice

Spray nonfat cooking spray in a large casserole dish. Pour mixed ingredients into the casserole dish. Bake for

35 to 40 minutes until visible rice browns. This will make for 2 very large servings or 3 average size servings.

 

Training Tip of the month:

Wide Grip Skin-the-Cat

Start: Wide grip skin-the-cats are excellent for stretching the biceps. Begin by taking an overhand grip on the

pull-up bar. Bend your knees and pull yourself up.

Stretch: As you did with the previous skin-the-cat stretches, invert your body, pulling your feet in through the

opening created by your hands. Then rotate around to a hanging position, as illustrated. On your way down,

tuck your knees into your chest. At the completion of the movement, point your toes and try to touch the

floor. Get help from your partner if necessary. Use total muscular control when

performing the stretch.

Nutrition Tip of the month:

Remember: Pre-Contest Dieting is Different for Everyone!

If you are preparing for a physique competition and going through the three stages of pre-contest dieting as

outlined in the Parrillo Nutrition Program, always keep one fact in mind: Everyone is different! It is impossible

for anyone to tell you exactly how to diet for a contest. Our guidelines should serve as a starting point as you

discover how your body responds to various pre-contest dieting techniques.

Our guidelines are based on what we have seen work for many competitors, but remember, everyone is

different! Write down everything you do, check your body composition at least once a week and learn from

experience. After several contests, you will know precisely what does and does not work for you.

Question of the month:

Question: Right now I’m adding CapTri® to my protein shakes because it’s a quick way to work it into my diet,

but I want to start using it as an oil for cooking. Is it OK to cook with CapTri® and if so, any guidelines?

Answer: Yes, you can cook with CapTri® MCT Oil! We have a whole CapTri® Cookbook full of great recipes for

cooking with CapTri®. Just be aware that CapTri® smokes at about 375 degrees so you should keep your heat

to 350 degrees at most when frying. If CapTri® should start to smoke, reduce heat quickly. Be sure to also try

cooking with our Butter Flavor CapTri®!

 

News & Discoveries In Fitness & Nutrition

Pumping Iron…Pumping Arnold!

“Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors Vol. 2” by Randy Roach

If you are a bodybuilding or fitness enthusiast, you may want to check out Randy Roach’s latest book, Muscle,

Smoke & Mirrors Volume 2. It is part of a 3-volume series serving as a comprehensive history of bodybuilding

and all its related issues such as diet, weightlifting, fitness, drugs, and even global politics. According to

Mr. Roach, Volume 2 “puts a laser focus on the decade that launched the sport of bodybuilding into the

mainstream public eye: the advancing yet politically fraught 1970s. This was the era that saw the rise of the

fitness boom, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arthur Jones and his Nautilus machines. Bodybuilding was cast in a

whole new light thanks to the efforts of George Butler and Charles Gaines who brought the phrase ‘Pumping

Iron’ into the Western lexicon. Volume 2 of ‘Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors’ drew upon a quarter million words in

order to contextualize the plight of muscle into a more favorable media spotlight and a place in an evolving

culture.“

More information can be found on Randy’s website: www.randyroach.ca or at the publisher’s website:

www.authorhouse.com

Quick Tip of the month:

All-Protein™ Coffee Creamer

Instead of using traditional coffee creamer, make a serving of Parrillo All-Protein™ (2 scoops mixed with 8 oz.

water) and keep it in the refrigerator to use in your coffee. You can also add 1 tsp. of cinnamon and a dash of

vanilla to your All-Protein creamer to make your coffee even more delicious.

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

To save time on weeknights, you can make up a big veggie medley on Sunday, by steaming or sauteing a large batch of vegetables that go well together. This way, you’ll have the veggie portion of your meals at the ready for the week. You can even add cooked beans to your medley, like chickpeas, Great Northern beans, or black beans.

Tips and Tidbits December, 2011

Training Tip of the month:

Narrow Grip Skin-the-Cat

Start: To stretch the delts, skin-the-cats should be performed with a narrow grip. Take an overhand grip on the pull-up bar. Bend your knees and pull yourself up.

Stretch: Next, invert your body, pulling your feet in through the opening created by your hands. Then rotate around to a hanging position, as illustrated. On your way down, tuck your knees to your chest. At the completion of the movement, point your toes and try to touch the floor. Remember to perform the movement slowly, with complete muscular control.

nutrition Tip of the month:

Three ways to use CapTri® in your diet.

 

1.  To decrease body fat just replace some of your starch calories with CapTri® to dampen your meal’s insulin response.

2.  To increase muscle just add CapTri® to your meals for the added quality calories needed to grow new muscle.

3.  If you are an endurance athlete use CapTri® for and easily available energy source that your body will burn even preferentially to glucose.

 

Question of the month:

Question: What is a “complete” protein?

Answer: A “complete” protein is a protein source which supplies all of the amino acids, including the ones which cannot be manufactured by the body. These are the so-called “essential” amino acids. Complete proteins supply all of the amino acids you need to build new muscle tissue, making them the best protein choices for bodybuilders. Examples of good low-fat protein sources are egg whites, chicken and turkey breast, and many types of fish. These should form the basis of your protein choices.

 

News & Discoveries In Fitness & Nutrition

Omega-3 fatty acids shown to prevent or slow progression of osteoarthritis

New research has shown for the first time that omega-3 in fish oil could “substantially and significantly” reduce the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis. According to the University of Bristol study, funded by Arthritis Research UK and published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, omega-3-rich diets fed to guinea pigs, which naturally develop osteoarthritis, reduced disease by 50 percent compared to a standard diet. The research is a major step forward in showing that omega-3 fatty acids, either sourced from fish oil or flax oil, may help to slow down the progression of osteoarthritis, or even prevent it occurring, confirming anecdotal reports and “old wives’ tales” about the benefits of fish oil for joint health.

Lead researcher Dr John Tarlton, from the Matrix Biology Research group at the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences, said classic early signs of the condition, such as the degradation of collagen in cartilage and the loss of molecules that give it shock-absorbing properties, were both reduced with omega-3. “Furthermore, there was strong evidence that omega-3 influences the biochemistry of the disease, and therefore not only helps prevent disease, but also slows its progression, potentially controlling established osteoarthritis,” he said.

- University of Bristol Press Release, Oct. 17, 2011 (edited for length)

Quick Tip of the month:

Parrillo Frosting™ & Contest Cookies™

Try this for an easy dessert: Make a batch of Parrillo Contest Cookies™ in your favorite flavor and let them cool. While cookies are cooling, make a batch of your favorite Parrillo Protein Frosting™. Then, make cookie sandwiches using the frosting as the filling and enjoy!

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

Getting a workout or cardio session in on your lunch break is a great way to free up some time for things you need to get done before or after work. Even just spending your lunch break taking a brisk walk is a good way to fit more exercise time into your busy day.

 

Tips and Tidbits November, 2011

Training Tip of the month:

Pec & Delt Stretch at a Bar

Start: As if to perform a low bar power squat, position yourself at the barbell so that the bar is across your shoulders and neck. The bar should be as far down on your back as possible. Lean forward slightly and point your elbows up. Your partner stands behind you and hooks his arms underneath your forearms. He places his hands on the bar just inside and next to your hands.

Stretch: With the strength of this upper body, your partner pushes your hips forward and your elbows up. Held for ten sec­onds, this movement completely stretches and loosens your pecs and deltoids.

Powerlifters can greatly benefit from this stretch. After heavy squatting, powerlifters often experience an intense ache in their elbow joints. Their pecs are so massive that too much stress is placed on the elbows, and pain results. This stretch loosens the pecs and delts and alleviates these joint problems.

nutrition Tip of the month:

Changing Your Lifestyle

Many people want to eat right and try to lose weight, but get confused with all the low-fat diets, high-fat diets, or low-carb diets that have become popular. The general concept at Parrillo is that to lose fat and keep it off requires a permanent lifestyle change. Many people use a calorie-restricted diet for a period of time, reach their goal weight, then go off their diet and resume their previous way of eating, a change that produces temporary results. If you want permanent results you need to make a permanent change. You need to pick a diet program with which you can live. An all fruit diet or a zero carb diet might make you lose weight, but is clearly a bad choice because you can’t live that way forever. Don’t forget to exercise as well! To achieve a lean, healthy, beautiful physique requires exercise as well as a proper diet.

Question of the month:

Question: I know meals on the Parrillo program should consist of a protein source, a starch and a fibrous vegetable, but I’m not sure which sources of starches are the best ones to choose.

Answer: If you’re following the Parrillo program, you need to be careful about picking which starches you’ll be consuming. The best starches are beans, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn peas, lentils, whole grains, oatmeal and so on. Be sure to eat your protein and fibrous veggies with your starch, as they slow the release of glucose from the starch, which serves as your primary glucose source. You can refer to the Parrillo Performance Nutrition Manual for a detailed list of choices, including their nutrient profile.

News & Discoveries In Fitness & Nutrition

Market Lighting Affects Nutrients

Many people reach toward the back of the fresh-produce shelf to find the freshest salad greens with the latest expiration dates. But a study led by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists may prompt consumers to instead look for packages that receive the greatest exposure to light–usually those found closest to the front. The study was led by postharvest plant physiologist Gene Lester while at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Crop Quality and Fruit Insects Research Unit in Weslaco, Texas. Lester and colleagues Donald Makus and Mark Hodges found that spinach leaves exposed to continuous light during storage were, overall, more nutritionally dense than leaves exposed to continuous dark. Lester now works at the ARS Food Quality Laboratory in Beltsville, Md.

For the study, the researchers exposed spinach leaves to light similar to the 24-hour artificial fluorescent light received by spinach in packages located at the front of the display case. A second group was enclosed in two-layer-thick, brown-grocery-bag paper to represent the “dark treatment.” The researchers found that the continuous light affected the leaves’ photosynthetic system-resulting in a significant increase in levels of carotenoids and vitamins C, E, K, and B9, or folate. While the simulated retail light conditions actually helped the stored leaves gain in content of several human-healthy vitamins, some wilting occurred after three days of storage in flat-leaf spinach, but not crinkled-leaf types.

- By Rosalie Marion Bliss, May 2011 Agricultural Research Service – USDA

Quick Tip of the month:

Double Chocolate Brownies

Mix together 4 scoops Contest Brownie Mix™, 2 scoops water, 2 Tbs. CapTri®, and 1 scoop High Fiber Chocolate Syrup Mix™ in a 4”x6”, 5”x5”, or 6”x6” microwave container. Microwave on high for 2 to 2½ minutes. Remove from microwave and let cool. Cut into 12 pieces and enjoy!

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

Quick Cooking Lentils: Lentils are a great time saver, as they don’t require soaking overnight like other dried beans and they only need to cook for about 25 minutes. If you’re cooking red lentils, they soften in about 10 minutes. Look for lentils in the bulk bins of your grocery store. You can stock up on them, as they keep for around 12 months stored in a cool dry place.

 

Tips and Tidbits – October, 2011

nutrition Tip of the month:

Pre-Contest Dieting

The key to successful pre-contest dieting is the gradual loss of bodyfat. If you attempt to lose fat by over-dieting you will inevitably sacrifice muscle tissue. Generally, you can lose no more than one pound of bodyfat per 100 pounds of body weight per week. For example, a 200-pound person could lose no more than two pounds of bodyfat per week without sacrificing lean body mass. It is crucial to monitor your ratio of bodyfat to lean body mass at least once a week during a pre-contest diet. A scale indicates when you lose weight, but it cannot indicate if you lose bodyfat or muscle tissue. By monitoring your body composi­tion, you will know when you need to adjust your diet so that you continue to lose bodyfat without sacrificing muscle tissue. If at any time you begin to lose lean body mass, increase your caloric intake and increase your aerobics. If you stop losing bodyfat, increase your aerobics and lower your intake of starchy carbohydrates. (The Parrillo BodyStat Kit contains everything you need for monitoring your body composition.)

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Tips and Tidbits – September, 2011

nutrition Tip of the month:

Pre-Contest Dieting:

You worked hard all year and now it’s time to diet for a contest. If you were faith­ful to The Parrillo Performance Nutrition Program in the off-season, you’re not carrying a lot of excess bodyfat. Dras­tically lowering your caloric intake is the worst thing you could do right now. You might drop 5 or 10 lbs. the first week, but you would lose mostly water and glycogen. Starvation diets decrease your metabolic rate so you do not repair as much muscle or burn as much fat as you would if you ate more. When you do things the Parrillo way, pre-con­test dieting is a far cry from starvation. You still eat the same healthy foods as in the off-season, but you eat a bit less and in slightly different protein/fat/carbohydrate ratios. Also, you increase the time and intensity of your aerobics to build your metabolism. By feeding your body rather than starving it, your metabolic rate remains high so you continue to repair muscle and burn fat. You end up bigger and harder instead of smaller and smoother.

Training Tip of the month:

Lat Stretch

Start: With both hands, grasp a bar or piece of stationary equipment. Place all the weight on the left side of your body—the side that will be stretched first. Cross your right leg over your left leg and step forward so that all your weight is on your left foot.

Stretch: Lean away from the bar, forming a comma with your body. With your left hand, push your shoulders in and through, as illustrated. Hold this position for ten seconds. Repeat with the other side of your body.

 

Question of the month:

Question: I want to lose fat, but in the past I’ve dieted and the fat always came back? What can I do?

Answer: To lose fat and keep it off requires a permanent lifestyle change. Many people use a calorie-restricted diet for a period of time, reach their goal weight, then go off their diet and resume their previous way of eating. This only produces temporary results. If you want permanent results you need to make a permanent change. You need to pick a diet program with which you can live. An all fruit diet or a zero carb diet might make you lose weight, but is clearly a bad choice because you can’t live that way forever. Those looking to lose fat also need to know that to achieve a lean, healthy physique requires exercise as well as a proper diet. If you don’t exercise enough your metabolism is so slow that even a small amount of food can make you fat. Exercise increases your muscle mass, which in turn increases your metabolic rate and helps you burn fat. Eating more and exercising will help them build muscle, and muscle is the engine that burns fat.

News & Discoveries In Fitness & Nutrition

Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Herbal Teas

Those who enjoy the caffeinated lift that comes from drinking traditional coffees and teas may tend to overlook the benefits of drinking herbal infusions. The idea that herbal teas may provide a variety of health benefits is not just folklore. A survey of the research literature on the health benefits from drinking three of the most popular herbals in America—chamomile, peppermint, and hibiscus tea—found compelling science-based evidence. While there was no clinical evidence for a calming effect from chamomile tea, test-tube evidence of moderate antimicrobial activity and significant antiplatelet-clumping activity was found. In test tubes, peppermint tea has been found to have significant antimicrobial and antiviral activities, strong antioxidant and antitumor actions, and some antiallergenic potential. Based on a human clinical trial, drinking hibiscus tea was found to have lowered blood pressure in a group of pre-hypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults.

- By Rosalie Marion Bliss, March 2011, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

 

Quick Tip of the month:

Parrillo Lava Cakes: Ever crave those little warm chocolate cakes oozing with gooey chocolate fudge in the center? Try making them Parrillo style! Just bake a batch of chocolate Parrillo Hi-Protein Cupcakes™ and while they are still warm from the oven, push the center of the cakes down with your two fingers to make an indentation. Then fill this area with Parrillo’s High Fiber Chocolate Syrup™, warmed in the microwave. Serve while cakes are still warm!

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

Roasted red peppers are an easy way to add wonderful flavor to your meals! Add them to your brown rice, lentils, soup, sauces, etc. With 3 easy ways to make them, you can’t go wrong: Grill them, broil them, or use a gas stove burner until the skin is blackened all over. Then, put them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 20 minutes, which makes the skin easy to scrape off. Cut into strips or pieces and enjoy!

Tips and Tidbits – August, 2011

nutrition Tip of the month:

Most people have some type of food al­lergies. However, unless the allergy causes a strong reaction (hives, nausea, throat constriction, etc.) they often go unnoticed. Less severe reactions such as water reten­tion, eye puffiness, and skin discoloration are also signs of a food allergy. Food allergies can be devastating to competitive bodybuilders. If they only knew about their allergies, they could avoid those foods which cause water retention and puffiness, especially before a contest. Eliminate one food from your diet for three days. Start with a food that is known for causing allergic reactions, such as dairy products, corn, shellfish, rice or whole wheat. Keep the rest of your diet exactly the same! After three days, put the food back into your diet and see how your body reacts. If you lose water when the food is eliminated and retain water when it is reintroduced, you are probably allergic. Once you find your food allergies, avoid these foods, especially the last few weeks before a competition.

 

Training Tip of the month:

 

Training Legs: Leg Curls

With the leg curl it is important to press your hips into the pad and keep your toes pointed throughout this movement. At the top of the movement, do not raise your glutes up. Be sure to do this exercise strictly, without jerking the weight. Lower your legs with the strength of your quads. Stay tight and strict throughout the range of motion.

 

Question of the month:

 

Question: What advice do you have for “hardgainers”? I can’t seem to pack on enough muscle!

 

Answer: If you’re a “hardgainer”, then you’re simply not eating properly or taking the right supple­ments. Nutrition is the key. It sets the limits of your growth and recovery potential. To extend that potential, you must train your body to process more nutrients by gradually increasing your caloric intake. That way, you develop all the systems in your body, including the endocrine system, metabolic pathways and digestive sys­tem so that your body starts building muscles and burning fat more efficiently than ever. Use supplements such as CapTri® and Pro-Carb™ to increase your caloric intake. “Hardgainers” try to pack on muscle by follow­ing killer workouts. That’s fine as long as you are taking in enough quality nutrients and calories. But if proper nutrition isn’t there to help you recover, those workouts won’t do any good.

 

News & Discoveries In Fitness & Nutrition

Blueberries Help Lab Rats Build Strong Bones

 

Compounds in blueberries might turn out to have a powerful effect on formation of strong, healthy bones, if results from studies with laboratory rats turn out to hold true for humans. Jin-Ran Chen and his colleagues are exploring this idea in research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Chen specializes in research on how what we eat during infancy, childhood and early adulthood affects growth and development of bones and the risk of developing osteoporosis or other degenerative bone diseases in later years.

Chen’s studies with young, rapidly growing laboratory rats suggest that polyphenols, the compounds that give blueberries their blue, purple, and red coloration, might aid in building strong bones. The work has paved the way for new research that might reveal whether blueberries could be used in the future in treatments to boost development of bone mass and to help prevent osteoporosis. Published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research in 2010, the investigation showed that animals fed rations that contained 10 percent freeze-dried blueberry powder had significantly more bone mass than their counterparts whose rations were blueberry-free.

When the researchers exposed laboratory cultures of bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) to blood (serum) from the animals, the scientists found that serum from the blueberry-fed rats was associated with an increase in development of osteoblasts into mature, functional bone cells. Serum in the blueberry-fed rats was high in phenolic acids, derived from the color-impacting polyphenols. The research suggests that the phenolic acids may have had bone-building effects in the rats. Studies are needed to determine whether these benefits occur in humans, Chen noted.

 

Quick Tip of the month:

White Bean Dip: Whip up a quick wholesome snack that’s similar to hummus. Just put 1 can of drained and rinsed white beans like great northern beans or cannellini beans in your food processor, add some fresh herbs such as parsley or rosemary, 1 tsp. ground cumin, lemon juice, and a garlic clove. As you process, add 1 to 2 TBS. CapTri® MCT oil until smooth and creamy. Enjoy with fresh vegetables!

- By Marcia Wood, June 21, 2011, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

Don’t throw away those broccoli stalks! Make a quick broccoli slaw using the stalks after cutting off the florets. Just peel off the outer skin and put the stalks in your food processor using the shredding or grating disc. You can also add some grated carrots. Make your slaw creamy using the CapTri® Mayonnaise recipe on page 80 in the CapTri® Cookbook.

Tips and Tidbits – July, 2011

Training Tip of the month:

Training Legs: Incline Leg Press

With the incline leg press, you can work various angles of your thigh by altering the position of your feet on the platform and by changing the point from where you push. If you place your feet high on the platform with a wide stance, the exercise emphasizes your glutes and hamstrings. If your foot placement is lower with a narrow stance, then emphasis shifts to your quads.

How you press makes a big difference too. When training bodybuilders on the leg press, I ask them where they want to “burn” their legs. Give me a six inch region anywhere on their legs and I can instruct them on how to isolate that specific area. I place a 2 x 4 board against the leg press platform under their heels. Then I have him push with the heels. This isolates the outer thighs tremendously. Next, I remove the board and instruct the bodybuilder to push with the balls of the feet. This shifts the stress to the frontal quads.As with all exercises, lock out hard at the top. Come out of the locked position in one smooth, continuous motion, just like a machine. Keep constant tension on your leg muscles as you push through the exercise. Always use your opposing muscles as you return to the starting position.

 

Nutrition Tip of the month:

Aerobics and Nutrition

Like nutrition and supplementation, aerobics are as important in the off-season as before a con­test. They are an essential, year-round ingredient for bodybuilding success. During the off-season, do half an hour to an hour of aerobics every morning before breakfast. This boosts your metabolism so you burn more bodyfat and recover more quickly from workouts.

By eating correctly and taking the right combination of supplements, you guarantee that aerobics will not make you look like a stringy, 98-pound weakling. Many endurance athletes take on this unhealthy appearance simply because they do not eat enough or take the right supplements. You will be more muscular, leaner, and healthier if you do the aerobics and eat more to compensate for the calories they burn.

Question of the month:

Question: My training partner is getting sloppy in his lifting technicque, and seems to always lift as if he’s in some big rush. How do I explain to him he is not getting maximum benefits by not lifting
correctly?

Answer: Tell him it is essential to use slow, strict reps in both the lifting and lowering por­tion of each exercise. When you’re moving too fast through the exercise, inertia—and very little of your own muscle power—is doing all the work. So you’re really not getting much from the exercise. Plus, fast lifting is very stressful on your connective tissue. Each rep should be performed in a slow, controlled fashion throughout the range of motion. There’s one exception, however. If you need to strengthen your connective tissue for another sport, perform the last rep of each set in a fast, explosive way. Or do an entire set this way.

 

News & Discoveries In Fitness & Nutrition

Eating Beans Helps Lower Cholesterol

Consuming as little as one-half cup of cooked dry beans every day helped volunteers lower their total cholesterol levels in an Agricultural Research Service study in North Dakota. These results, published in the November issue of the Journal of Nutrition by the ARS scientists and their colleagues, add to a growing—and convincing—body of evidence that beans are a heart healthy food choice. Experts consider a lipid profile, which provides a complete cholesterol count based on blood tests, to be a valid biomarker for the risk of cardiovascular disease. Because cardiovascular disease is a lifestyle-related disease, interventions that improve cholesterol profiles are considered beneficial to health. Positive changes in physical activity and diet may result in substantial improvements.

The researchers tested 80 volunteers aged 18 to 55 years. Half were healthy, while half had at least two symptoms that lead to metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that signal a risk for cardiovascular disease. Those with “pre-metabolic-syndrome” had abdominal obesity and either high triglyceride levels, low HDL “good” cholesterol, high blood sugar, or high blood pressure. For 12 weeks, half of the group was randomly selected to eat one-half cup of cooked dry pinto beans daily along with their regular daily diet. The others ate a replacement serving of chicken soup instead of the pinto beans. The findings show that, compared to measures taken prior to the 12-week test phase, all the volunteers—the healthy ones as well as those with symptoms—who ate pinto beans saw a reduction in their cholesterol levels.

While the findings confirm earlier studies by other researchers showing that eating beans lowers cholesterol levels, the mechanisms that underlie the effect require further study.

- By Rosalie Marion Bliss, Nov. 2007, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

 

Quick Tip of the month:

For Chocolate and Peanut Butter Lovers, here’s a treat idea for you: Make a Parrillo Hi-Protein Cake™ (or cupcakes), frost it with Parrillo Peanut Butter Protein Frosting™, then drizzle some Parrillo High Fiber Chocolate Syrup™ on top of the frosting. You can even lightly drag a knife across the top a few times to create a cool ‘marbeling’ effect. Yum!

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

Now’s the time of year to check out farmstands and farmer’s markets for delicious locally-grown summer produce! Take a few moments to stop by and pick up some tasty zucchini, summer squash, sweet corn on the cob, green beans, plump tomatoes, fresh herbs, and more. Enjoy the bounty of the summer harvest while you can, and your tastebuds will thank you!

Tips and Tidbits – June, 2011

Training Tip of the month:

Training Legs: Deadlifts

Many bodybuilders avoid deadlifts because this exercise can thicken the waist. But often, you need to build your physique to a point beyond where you want to be. Then you can use isolation exercises to sculpt away thickness while still holding your size. So, for gaining that initial size and thickness, deadlifts are an excellent exercise.

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