Captain America workout

Chris Evans – Captain America workout

Chris Evans transformed his physique to play superhero Captain America in this summer’s blockbuster movie. Here’s how he did it.

Chris Evans is no stranger to breathing life into comic book heroes, having previously starred as Johnny Storm in theFantastic Four movies. But for the American actor’s latest role as the eponymous hero of Captain America: The First Avenger, he had to transform his physique into something as close to the perfect human specimen as possible.

‘The studios had a very specific idea about how they wantedChris to look,’ says Evans’s personal trainer Simon Waterson, the man also behind the radical transformations ofDaniel Craig as 007 and Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia. ‘My brief was to build Chris a strong, big and lean body that was realistic, functional and in proper proportion. In the movie, his character is physically transformed into the perfect soldier specimen so he had to look the part.’

The plot of Captain America: The First Avenger seesEvans play Steve Rogers, a sickly young man who tries to enlist in the US Army in 1943 to fight the Nazis but is deemed physically unfit. He instead volunteers for Project: Rebirth, a secret military operation to aid the US war effort that uses a serum to convert him into the peak of human perfection and become the super-soldier that is Captain America. He is then deployed to bring down Hitler’s treacherous head of advanced weaponry, the Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving.

Under Waterson’s guidance Evans increased his weight from 77kg to 82kg, while reducing his body fat percentage 
from 12.5 to just eight per cent.

To help Evans add lean muscle mass quickly, Waterson gave the actor a training regime based on high-weight/low-rep sets of the classic compound lifts, specifically squats, deadlifts, incline bench presses and weighted dips and chin-ups.

‘He also did a lot of bodyweight moves and included some plyometrics to fire up his fast-twitch muscle fibres, such as squat-to-box-jumps,’ says Waterson. ‘The aim was to keep his heart rate high throughout the workouts. I didn’t want to ignore this aspect of fitness because once filming started Chris was effectively going to have to work out on camera during the action scenes while wearing a 6kg costume as well as carrying a helmet and shield.’

Adding serious muscle while cutting fat is one thing, but doing so while managing not to injure a Hollywood leading man put additional pressure on Waterson to deliver the ideal leading-man physique.

‘Chris had done some weight training before, but as with a lot of guys it had been focused on the vanity muscles of the chest, arms and abs,’ says Waterson. ‘These guys are always amazed when I point out that they have muscles on the backs of their bodies too. But Chriswas great to train. He understood the importance of a balanced physique. I had to work him hard but at a sensible pace – I couldn’t afford to have him sidelined for four weeks with an injury.’

The transformation didn’t come easy – Evans especially hated leg training. ‘But then who loves training legs?’ says Waterson. ‘Because if you are doing it properly it is the most painful session there is. Legs never hurt just for a day afterwards – it always lasts into the week. But your legs and glutes are the biggest and strongest muscles in your body so you must train them hard to get bigger and leaner everywhere else. So many men ignore legs because they want big arms, but pushing your lower body to the limit will transform your upper body faster than anything else thanks to a big growth-hormone response.’

‘The biggest challenge for Chris was eating enough to put on muscle but avoid storing any excess energy as fat,’ says Waterson. ‘We relied on low-carb protein shakes in between meals and snacks such as fruit and nuts. I also had him take branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) throughout the day to reduce muscle tissue breakdown and encourage growth. The aim each day was about 2g protein per kg of bodyweight.’

You too can get a superhero body with Evans’s legs workout and Waterson’s nutrition tips.

Captain America's legs workout
‘Pick a body part and hit it hard,’ 
says Waterson, ‘then give it 
time and nutrients to recover: 
fatigue, feed then leave – it’s really that simple.’ Perform one warm-up set for each exercise, then do three 
sets of six to eight reps at your eight-rep max.

1 Squat
2 Lunge
3 Leg press
4 Calf raise
5 Hamstring curl

Captain America's nutrition plan
Breakfast 
Bowl of porridge with dark berries and walnuts
Morning snack 
Protein shake and 5g BCAA
Pre-workout snack
Apple with almonds
Post-workout snack
Protein shake and 5g BCAA
20min later 
Chicken salad with brown basmati rice
Afternoon snack 
Protein shake
Dinner
Lean protein, such as fish, chicken or beef, with vegetables. No starchy carbs.

Exercise is important even if it burns few calories

Why Exercise Is Important for Weight Loss

Diet and Weight Loss Tutorial

Just as a car runs on gasoline, our bodies run on the blood sugar (glucose) circulating in our bloodstream. When we exercise enough to deplete the supply of blood sugar, hormones are released that instruct our fat cells to release fat into our bloodstream. The fat circulates to the muscles that need it for fuel, and we end up with less fat on our bodies.

The Right Reason to Exercise

Exercise plays an important role in maintaining a healthy body, and it makes it possible to create a calorie deficit and lose weight without starving your body and slowing your metabolism. But do not look to exercise as your sole method of weight loss.

Think how many times you've heard someone say, "I'll have dessert and work it off later." As our calculators will show you, that dessert can equate to hours of exercise -- something you're not likely to actually do. Better to eat well in the first place.

Eat healthy foods in reasonable quantities and exercise regularly to maintain good health, and your body will find a healthy weight naturally.

Categories of Exercise

Exercise is frequently divided into two categories, both of which burn calories:

1. Aerobic exercise, also called cardiovascular exercise or simply "cardio," causes you to breathe harder and increases your heart rate.
Performed on a regular basis, activities such as running and swimming improve both your respiratory capacity (lungs) and your circulatory system (heart and blood vessels).

2. Strength building, also called resistance training, increases the proportion of muscle on your body. Examples include weight lifting with free weights and using a machine with variable resistance.
Because muscle is a metabolically active tissue, the more muscular you are the higher your metabolism will be. This means that you will burn more calories even at rest.

Exercise Regularly

People who exercise on a regular basis not only lose weight more effectively, but are more successful at keeping it off. And the significance of regular exercise goes beyond the physical benefits.

Regular exercise produces a mental attitude of self-care and self-esteem that bolsters confidence and the desire to continue to improve.

The health benefits of regular exercise are significant and include reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and diabetes. Even just walking on a regular basis is of great value. Exercise also helps to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, which can be brought on by dieting itself, and can lead to overeating.

As explained in What It Takes to Lose It All, dieting often causes you to lose muscle and your metabolism to slow. Not only does exercise burn calories, but exercise -- especially cardio -- causes your metabolism to remain elevated for a period of time after you finish exercising. And strength building exercise builds muscle, which helps to keep your metabolism elevated 24 hours a day.

Yo-Yo Dieting without Exercise

Yo-yo dieting gets its name from the cycle of bingeing, then dieting to lose the weight gained bingeing, then repeating the cycle again and again. Yo-yo dieters typically gain weight over time, and yo-yo dieting without exercise only compounds the problem.

Without exercise, yo-yo dieters lose both muscle and fat during the diet phase, while they gain only fat during the binge phase. Over time, the proportion of fat making up their bodies becomes greater and greater, while the proportion of muscle becomes smaller and smaller.

This results in a significant slowdown of their metabolism, making weight loss more and more difficult.

Getting Started -- Slowly

Have you ever seen an obese person "busting a gut" on their first day at the gym or track? And maybe you saw them a second day, but not a third? Or maybe something similar has happened to you? Take baby steps. Maybe just walking at first. With time you will build your strength, endurance, and confidence.

You can challenge your body to improve by exercising just outside your "comfort zone." Then, when what you're doing is no longer a challenge, you can do a little more or do it a little harder, faster or longer. But forget about the old saying, "No Pain, No Gain." If you hurt, you won't get off the couch!

When you work your muscles, you may feel a little soreness the next day. This is called "delayed-onset muscle soreness" and it is especially common when you first begin exercising. Stressing your muscles causes microscopic tears to their fibers, and this causes the soreness. The good news is that as your muscles heal they become stronger.

If you experience any other type of pain, stop or see a doctor. Our bodies do a wonderful job of telling us when we are abusing them. The problem is, exercise can be so addicting that we sometimes don't want to stop and listen.

It's Natural

The human body was designed to be active, and the modern conveniences that make life so easy work to our detriment. If you have a desk job, fight back! Take the stairs instead of the elevator, go for a walk during your lunch break, and walk the last few blocks to work.

Calculate how many calories you would burn if you went for a half-hour walk a few days a week. Multiply that by 52 weeks a year and you'll be surprised at how it adds up. It can make a significant difference in your weight management and, perhaps even more important, your mental attitude and health.

How Eating Sweet Potatoes Can Help You Lose Weight

While you may be aware of the numerous health benefits associated with sweet potatoes, chances are that you aren't aware how sweet potatoes can help you to lose weight. The high amount of dietary fiber, the low calorie content, and the high amount of water all work together to make sweet potatoes a great food if you are trying to lose weight.

High Fiber Content

One of the main ways that sweet potatoes can help you lose weight is due to their high amount of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is important if you are trying to lose weight for a number of reasons. First, fiber is bulky, meaning that foods that contain high amounts of dietary fiber will take up a lot of room in your stomach. This helps to keep you feeling full for a long period of time, thereby preventing overeating. Next, fiber is slow digesting. This means that it takes a long time for high fiber foods to leave your stomach and enter your digestive tract. This prevents overeating, thereby reducing the chances of high calorie intake and potential weight gain. Obviously, the high fiber content of sweet potatoes plays a large part in helping you to lose weight.

Low Calorie Content

Next, sweet potatoes have a relatively low calorie content, which is also very important if you are trying to lose weight. In one pound of fat there is 3500 calories. This means that if you want to lose one pound of weight per week, you need to eliminate 500 calories from your diet each day. By using sweet potatoes, which typically contain around 100 calories per serving, instead of a higher calorie food such as white potatoes, which may contain as many as 400-500 calories per serving, you are well on your way to achieving this calorie deficiency. By using some creativity, you can definitely use sweet potatoes to help you lose weight. For example, try using mashed sweet potatoes to make pancakes instead of the traditional batter, which is typically loaded with high amounts of both fat and calories.

High Water Content

Finally, the high amount of water that is found in sweet potatoes can definitely help you lose weight, both in the long term and in the short term. With the exception of bone and fat your body is composed almost primarily from water, and therefore it is of no surprise that it responds favorably when you eat foods that contain high amounts of water. Like fiber, water takes up a lot of room in your stomach. Therefore, eating foods that contain high amounts of water, such as sweet potatoes, will make you feel full and will prevent overeating and snacking between meals. This will help both in your weight loss goals and will also help you prevent the weight from coming back on.

How to Get 9 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables a Day

Which fruits and vegetables are the most nutritious and how to fit them into your diet every day.

By Stephanie Wagle

If you haven't started eating more fruits and vegetables yet, you're missing out on some major disease-fighting benefits, not to mention one of the best weight-management strategies to come around in years.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, recommend four to five one-half cup servings of fruits, and four to five half-cup servings of vegetables every day. Why so much?

"Because we know that people who eat more fruits and vegetables have less heart disease, and they have a healthier diet overall," says Lisa Hark, PhD, RD, author of Nutrition for Life(DK, 2005). "This is the first time they have said our dietary guidelines are not only to promote health, but to reduce the risk of major, chronic diseases and conditions like high cholesterol and high blood pressure."

So what does nine half-cup servings really mean? Does juice count? Do all the fruit and vegetable servings need to be fresh? And how can one possibly eat that much food without gaining weight?

"When I originally heard nine servings I thought, 'Oh my God'," Hark admits. "But if you think of it as two cups of fruits and two and a half cups of vegetables, it's a lot less daunting."

Hark recommends against drinking juice and taking multivitamins to meet the guideline requirements. "Fruits and veggies are a great source of fiber, both soluble and insoluble fiber. They're also a good source of vitamins and minerals, especially antioxidants. The natural source is always better. Juice doesn't give you much fiber, and it has too many calories."

Without juice in the equation, eating nine servings of fruits and vegetables seems like a big challenge. So we've broken down the guidelines and talked to some real women to find real solutions for eating more fruits and vegetables every day. Here's what we found.

It's important to keep in mind that nine servings of fruits and vegetables guideline is based on a diet of 2,000 calories per day. If you're eating less than that, the Dietary Guidelines give you a break: you can skip one serving of fruit and one vegetable serving if you're only eating 1,600 calories a day, for example. If you're eating more, add one extra serving of fruit and a serving of veggies for every 500 to 600 calories.

What Fruits Count?

Here's what the Dietary Guidelines say about fruit:

• 1/2 cup of fresh fruit, like 1/2 grapefruit or 1 clementine orange
• 1/2 cup of frozen fruit, like melon or strawberries with no added sugar or fats
• 1/2 cup canned fruit, like sliced peaches, with no added sugar or fats
• 1/2 cup dried fruit, like apricots or apples
• 1/2 cup of juice, like apple or orange, with no added sugars or fats

These options suddenly make this task seem a little easier! But have you ever heard of canned fruit that isn't packed in some kind of sugar or fat?

"I buy a lot of canned fruits because my kids love them," says Hark. "But you have to buy fruits that say they are packed in their own juice, or packed in 100% juice." And Hark sticks to her guns about fruit juice, reminding us that it's a lot of extra calories without the benefits of fiber and other nutrients whole fruits have to offer.

What Vegetables Count?

Now let's take a look at our vegetable options. As with fruits, the guidelines call for vegetables with no added fats or sugars, and they include fresh, frozen, and canned varieties, cooked or raw, and cooked dry legumes.

"I would never eat canned vegetables," says Hark. "They have no nutritional value, no fiber, and they are loaded with sodium. However, frozen vegetables are a great alternative, because I don't have time to cook and cut fresh vegetables. You can lightly steam a bag of string beans with a little olive oil and have a delicious side dish."

The Dietary Guidelines break the vegetable needs down into weekly recommendations, in order to emphasize the different vegetable types:

• Dark green vegetables, like broccoli, spinach, and other dark green leafy varieties: 3 cups per week or 6 half-cup servings
• Orange vegetables, like sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash: 2 cups per week (4 servings)
• Legumes, like pinto beans, lentils, and chickpeas: 3 cups per week (6 servings)
• Starchy vegetables, like potatoes, corn, and green peas: 3 cups per week (6 servings)
• Other vegetables, like tomatoes, green beans, and onions: 6.5 cups per week (13 servings)

Hark explains that the orange and red vegetables are important because they're usually loaded with beta-carotene. "Beta-carotene is good for the skin and good for the eyes. And the green leafy vegetables are a good source of folate, and of course that's good for women and heart disease prevention."

Another key finding: since leafy salad greens are kind of bulky, you need to eat one full cup to count as one serving, instead of the usual half-cup serving size.

So how do real women get fruit and vegetables into their diets? As it turns out, snacking between meals is the secret to success.

"Eating more fruits and vegetables is something I struggle with, especially since I got pregnant," says Sasha, a beauty and fashion editor from Brooklyn, New York. "I do a few things, like eating dried fruit, which seems easier to snack on. I keep baby carrots in my desk for when I want to munch on something. And lately I've been eating a lot of edamame -- the salt itches the snack itch."

Hark says dried fruit and edamame are excellent solutions. "Dried fruit is very helpful -- it's a great source of fiber and it's easy to carry around with you," she says. "Edamame is healthy -- it's a soy bean," says Hark. "I don't think it's a significant amount of salt. But if you don't want to have so much salt, you could wash them."

Baby carrots seemed to be a popular choice among the women we talked to. Says Denise, a mother of two and the managing editor of a major Web site, "My two-and-a-half-year-old-daughter and I share this passion: healthy dipping sauce! It adds flavor and is a pretty safe way to snack and get veggies in your diet." Denise and her family love dipping baby carrots in salsa, hummus, fat-free dressing, and plain yogurt with dill sprinkled on top.

Keeping fruit at your desk was another foolproof strategy for our health-conscious group. As a vegetarian, Lexi, a parenting editor from Brooklyn, New York, has made a habit of keeping a box of clementines at her desk and in her kitchen whenever they're in season. Plus, her doctors have been preaching the benefits of extra fruits and veggies to her for years, so she's made some rules for herself.

"If I want bread, I have to have a veggie, too," explains Lexi. "When I make egg salad, for example, I always want crackers with it. But if I get crackers, I also have to cut up a bell pepper to use as a scoop. Oh, using veggies as snack scoops is another big rule of mine."

Ultimately, there are only so many fruits and vegetables you can eat between meals. To reach the recommended nine servings, you have no choice but to add sides of fruit and vegetables to every meal.

The key here is planning ahead. A lot of the women we talked to do their grocery shopping on Sundays so their produce will stay fresh throughout the week. But how to serve these healthy delights?

Ruth, an advertising sales account executive living in New York City, says she loves steaming and stir-frying. "Recently I've been doing a quick and simple stir-fry of squash, peppers, onions, and corn, together with some chicken and teriyaki sauce."

Boosting your favorite recipes with complementary vegetables is an easy way to get your servings, says Hark. "Sneaking in vegetables is something that women have to do with their husbands and children. Tomato sauce over pasta is a good idea. You can add broccoli, string beans, or peas to any kind of red sauce as well."

Sasha, our expectant mom, employs this strategy with great success. "I add veggies to chili, like corn to turkey chili and zucchini and squash to veggie chili."

Our vegetarian friend, Lexi, reports an excellent guideline with a money-saving twist: "Everything that can contain fruit should contain fruit. Salads, cereals, oatmeal -- everything. We pay so much money for specialty foods that have fruit added, like cranberry-turkey sandwiches or chicken-apple salad, why not do it at home?"

Still, it's a challenge to track your fruit and vegetable intake every day, disease-fighting capabilities or not. Michelle, an editor living in New York City, has a less strenuous approach: "I designate a couple days a week to be salad days. Especially during the winter when salads and vegetables don't seem as appetizing, forcing myself to eat salad helps me get my greens." Even better -- Michelle follows the rainbow plan when choosing her salad ingredients, selecting red tomatoes, orange peppers, yellow peppers, and green peas to add a nutritious boost to her spinach leaves.

Overall, Hark recommends a gentle, but persistent approach to adding fruits and vegetables to your daily diet. "For many years the Dietary Guidelines recommended five fruit and vegetable servings every day. And 70 percent of the population isn't even getting that many servings. Now it's nine servings a day. Look at your own diet. You don't have to get to nine, or even to five. You just have to try to eat a little bit more."

Originally published on BHG.com, March 2005.

Boost mitochondrial function naturally

by: Dr. David Jockers

(NaturalNews) Every cell within our body has unique organelles within it that play a vital role in the overall function and health of the cell. The mitochondria is a unique intracellular structure that produces 95% of the cellular energy and plays a critical role in protecting the cell from oxidative stress. Lifestyle and environmental stressors can alter mitochondrial function and cause the onset of disease processes within the body.

The mitochondria are a very unique structure within the cell. They are the powerhouse of the cell and are the only intracellular organelle that has its own DNA and is able to divide and replicate on its own. The general consensus among researchers is that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in nearly every degenerative disease.

The major factors involved in poor mitochondrial function include deficiencies in critical cellular nutrients, proprioceptive deficiencies, and environmental toxicity. The standard American diet, sedentary lifestyle, and ubiquitous amount of toxins in our society make today`s generation far more susceptible for mitochondrial dysfunction than ever before.

The most common dietary problems today include blood sugar imbalances, fatty acid imbalances, & nutritional deficiencies. Blood sugar imbalances create advanced glycolytic enzymes (AGE`s) that damage cell function and increase free radical formation. Fatty acid imbalances include overconsumption of processed meats & oils, man-made trans-fatty acids, and omega-6 fatty acids.

Healthy mitochondria depend on a diet that stabilizes blood sugar levels, normalizes fatty acid ratios, and provides mega-doses of trace minerals and phytonutrient anti-oxidants. This diet consists of fresh vegetables and healthy fat sources such as olive oil, avocados, coconut products, nuts & seeds. Grass-fed and free range animal products are incredibly nutritious.

Mitochondrial stability is enhanced through heavy consumption of anti-oxidants and trace minerals. This can be accomplished with the generous use of lemon/lime, pink salts, turmeric, rosemary, ginger, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, & cilantro in meals, soups, salads, and drinks.

Great mitochondrial boosting nutrients include Vitamin D, Folic acid, Pyridoxine (B6), Vitamin B12, Zinc, CoQ10, and trace minerals. Vitamin D levels should be between 60-100 ng/ml. Boost Vitamin D naturally with 20-60 minutes of sunlight every day or supplement with an emulsified Vitamin D3. A raw, whole-food multi-vitamin that supplies ample amounts of folic acid, B6, B12, Zinc, trace minerals, & CoQ10 should be consumed daily.

Every cell depends on a steady supply of neurological signals to maintain its electrochemical potential. Proprioception, otherwise known as movement information, revs up neurological flow from the brain-body and back to the brain. This is like throwing wood on a fire in that it boosts the cells' metabolic rate and creates greater cellular stability. When cells are deprived of healthy neurological flow, they become unstable and are vulnerable to oxidative stress cycles.

A sedentary lifestyle creates a proprioceptive deficit. This deprives the system of essential neurological flow. Additionally, poor spinal movement patterns create abnormal neurological impulses. This creates physical stress cycles in the body that facilitate inflammatory processes. Both neurological deficiencies and abnormal physical stress cycles create an overload of oxidative stress on the mitochondria that lead to dysfunction.

Healthy proprioceptive patterns come from an active lifestyle full of movement patterns that incorporate core stability and balance training. Chiropractic adjustments and specific physical therapy exercises correct spinal abnormalities and boost normal proprioceptive inputs to the brain and body. This reduces stress on the system and improves mitochondrial strength & stability.

Environmental toxins are now more than ever a strong player in creating mitochondrial dysfunction. Major toxins that damage mitochondrial function include heavy metals such as mercury, pesticides/herbicides, air/water pollutants, food preservatives, commercial cleaning agents, and non-stick cookware among others.

To oat or not to oat

Are Oats Healthy?

You know how we say that grains exist on a spectrum of suitability, from “really bad” wheat to “not so terrible” rice? Well, what about the rest of ‘em? They may be the most commonly consumed (and thus encountered) grains, but wheat and rice aren’t the only grains on the spectrum. Since I get a lot of email about oats, I figured they were a good choice for this post. Besides – though I was (and still mostly am) content to toss the lot of them on the “do not eat” pile, I think we’re better served by more nuanced positions regarding grains. Hence, my rice post. Hence, my post on traditionally prepared grains. And hence, today’s post on oats. Not everyone can avoid all grains at all times, and not everyone wants to avoid all grains at all times. For those situations, it makes sense to have a game plan, a way to “rank” foods.

Today, we’ll go over the various incarnations of the oat, along with any potential nutritional upsides or downsides. But first, what is an oat?

The common oat is a cereal grain, the seed of a species of grass called Avena sativa. Its ancient ancestor, Avena sterilis, was native to the Fertile Crescent in the Near East, but domesticated oats do best in cool, moist climates like regions of Europe and the United States. They first appeared in Swiss caves dated to the Bronze Age, and they remain a staple food crop in Scotland. The “whole grain” form of an oat is called a groat (the picture up above depicts whole oat groats) and is rarely sold as-is, except maybe as horse feed. Instead, they’re sold either as steel-cut, rolled, or instant oats.

Steel-cut oats are whole groats chopped into several pieces. Some of the bran flakes off, but some is retained. Steel-cut oats take longer to cook, contain the most nutrients (and antinutrients like phytic acid), and taste nuttier than conventional oats.

Rolled oats are steamed groats that have literally been rolled out and flattened, with the bran discarded. When most people think of “oats,” they’re thinking of rolled oats.

Instant oats are rolled, steamed, and precooked oats. They’re essentially the same as rolled oats, only often accompanied by sugary flavorings and rendered immediately edible by the addition of hot liquid.

The main problems with oats are the phytic acid and the avenin, a protein in the prolamine family (along with gluten from wheat, rye, and barley, and zein, from corn). As far as phytic acid (or phytate) goes, oats contain less than corn and brown rice but about the same amount as wheat. As you know from previous posts, phytate has the tendency to bind minerals and prevent their absorption. So, even if a grain is rich in minerals, the presence of phytate prevents their full absorption. Ingestion is not absorption, remember. As I understand it, you can, however, reduce or eliminate phytate by lactic fermentation. I’m not sure the degree to which phytate can be deactivated, but one study does show that consuming oats that underwent lactic fermentation resulted in increased iron absorption rather than reduced. Another source claims that simple soaking isn’t enough, since oats contain no phytase, which breaks down phytate. Instead, you’d have to incorporate a phytase-containing flour to do the work; a couple tablespoons of buckwheat appear to be an effective choice for that. Combining both lactic acid bacteria (whey, kefir, or yogurt), companion flour (buckwheat), water, and a warm room should take care of most of the phytate… but that’s a lot of work!

Avenin appears to have some of the same problems as gluten in certain sensitive individuals, although it doesn’t appear as if the problem is widespread or as serious. Kids with celiac disease produced oat avenin antibodies at a higher rate than kids without celiac, but neither group was on a gluten-free diet. When you put celiacs on a gluten-free diet, they don’t appear to show higher levels of avenin antibodies. It looks like once you remove gluten, other, potentially damaging proteins become far less dangerous. One study did find that some celiacs “failed” an oats challenge. Celiac patients ate certified gluten-free oats (quick note: oats are often cross-contaminated with gluten, so if you’re going to experiment with oats, make sure they’re certified gluten-free), and several showed signs of intestinal permeability, with one patient suffering all-out villous atrophy, or breakdown of the intestinal villi. A few out of nineteen patients doesn’t sound too bad, but it shows that there’s a potential for cross-reactivity.

Why do oats get so much praise from health organizations, particularly from the American Heart Association (whose coat of arms boxes of Quaker Oats proudly display)?

Well, oats contain a specific type of soluble fiber called beta-glucan that increases bile acid excretion. As bile acid is excreted, so too is any serum cholesterol that’s bound up in the bile. The effect is a significant reduction in serum cholesterol. In rats with a genetic defect in the LDL receptor gene – their ability to clear LDL from the blood is severely hampered – there’s some evidence that oat bran is protective against atherosclerosis. Of course, the very same type of LDL-receptor-defective mice get similar protection from a diet high in yellow and green vegetables, so it’s not as if oat bran is a magical substance. Like other prebiotic fibers, oat bran also increases butyrate production (in pigs, at least), which is a beneficial short-chain fatty acid produced by fermentation of fibers by gut flora with a host of nice effects. Overall, I think these studies show that soluble fiber that comes in food form is a good thing to have, but I’m not sure they show that said fiber needs to come from oats.

Oats also appear to have a decent nutrient profile, although one wonders how bioavailable those minerals are without proper processing. A 100 gram serving of oats contains:

• 389 calories
• 16.9 grams protein
• 66 grams carbohydrate
• 10.6 grams fiber (with just under half soluble)
• 7 grams fat (about half PUFA and half MUFA)
• 4.72 mg iron
• 177 mg magnesium
• 3.97 mg zinc
• 0.6 mg copper
• 4.9 mg manganese

Oatmeal is a perfect example of the essentially tasteless, but oddly comforting food that’s difficult to give up (judging from all the emails I get). It’s tough to explain, because it’s not like oatmeal is particularly delicious. It’s bland, unless you really dress it up. No, I suspect it’s more than taste. I myself have fond childhood memories of big warm bowls of oat porridge steaming on the breakfast table. I’d add brown sugar, dig in, and head out to adventure through blustery New England mornings with a brick of pulverized oats in my happy belly. The nostalgia persists today, even though I don’t eat the stuff and have no real desire to do so. Heck, seeing Wilfred Brimley’s diabetes awareness TV spots still makes me think of those bowls of oatmeal and all the playing they fueled. Maybe it’s a combination of nostalgia and physical satiation?

Still, since I had some steel-cut oats laying around the house from a past houseguest who absolutely needed his oats, I decided to give them a shot. To self-experiment. To – gasp! – willingly and deliberately eat some whole grains. McCann’s Irish oats, they were. Raw, not steamed, and of presumably high quality. I’d been researching this post, and I came across an interesting thread on Paleohacks in which a recipe for baked oatmeal was described. Go ahead and check it out. I followed it exactly, soaking the oats in an acidic medium (Greek yogurt) and adding the buckwheat flour, which I made a special trip to the store for. When it was done cooking, I added a bunch of blueberries and some grass-fed butter, a touch of salt and a few shakes of cinnamon, and the Paleohacks poster was right: it did make the kitchen smell great. I sat down to eat my bowl. I’d been on a long hike that morning and I had done some heavy lifting as it baked, so I felt like I was as ready as I’d ever be.

It was… okay. The liberal amount of butter I added quickly disappeared without a trace, and I had to stop myself from adding more because that would have been the rest of the stick. The berries and cinnamon looked and smelled great, but they were swallowed by the blandness. I even added a tablespoon of honey but couldn’t taste it. It was satisfying in the sense that it provided bulk in my stomach. A half hour after, I felt kinda off. It’s hard to describe. A spacey, detached feeling? Slightly drugged? However you want to describe it, it didn’t feel right. Only lasted half an hour or so, though. My digestion was fine (hat tip to Jack Kronk and his Paleohacks recipe for getting that part right), and I never felt bloated besides the initial “brick in the stomach” feeling.

That’s my take on oats. Better than wheat, worse (and more work to improve) than rice. I won’t be eating them because I frankly don’t enjoy them, there are numerous other food options that are superior to oats, and I don’t dig the weird headspace they gave me, but I’ll admit that they aren’t as bad as wheat. If I want starch, I’ll go for some sweet potatoes.

NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU workout

NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU CAN WALK ON WATER.
But this should come as no surprise to his fans, who've known that there was something special about the Danish actor ever since he picked up a broadsword 3 years ago to play the amoral warrior Jaime Lannister on HBO's medieval-fantasy series Game of Thrones. To me, though, it's a shock. Sure, he's doing it with the aid of a 12-foot paddleboard and a carbon-fiber oar. But as my board bucks wildly, Coster-Waldau's vessel slices through the Pacific like a Viking longship.

And it's his maiden voyage.

Having recently wrapped the sci-fi thriller Oblivion, Coster-Waldau—Nik, to his friends—is in Los Angeles for 2 extra days of shooting for GoT. We've met up on this blue-sky morning for a lesson in stand-up paddleboarding.

Our launch spot, Malibu's Paradise Cove, lives up to its name: white sand, water so clear you can see your shadow on the ocean floor 20 feet below, and an escort of bemused harbor seals. Leading us is instructor Tyler Lennon, who tweaks our form on the fly. "Don't look down," he says. "Gaze at the horizon." A quick study, Coster-Waldau is powering his way along the shoreline. "I feel like a gondolier!" he yells.

Relaxed but upright, waving to fellow boarders, the brawny, shaggy-haired 42-year-old—who has two films slated to open this year in addition to Oblivion—hardly comes across as an actor at the apex of his career. He's happy to stay out of the limelight and the L.A. scene. He lives in Copenhagen with his wife, a former Miss Greenland, and his two daughters. He's delighted, on this particular day, to be exactly where he is, doing exactly what he's doing. "Out here, all that," he says, gesturing to the congested, conflicted city, "goes away."




COSTER-WALDAU HAS COME A LONG WAY TO REACH this moment. Offscreen he speaks with the slightest of accents ("usually" comes out yew-shwelly), and he carries himself with a hint of old-world formality. Except for those clues, you wouldn't suspect that he spent his childhood 5,000 miles from here in the village of Tybjerg, home to exactly 40 people. A talented athlete, he had early dreams of glory on the fodbold field. Between schoolwork and practice, however, he was devising an even more audacious plan. "I always wanted to be an actor, but I just never told anyone," he laughs. "I had this superstition that if I said it out loud, it wouldn't come true."

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau flew 64 times last year. That's a lot of time zones and crappy hotel gyms. His trainer, Jesper Mouritzen, devised this do-anywhere body-weight workout for him. Try it yourself: Perform 8 reps of each exercise back-to-back, doing the entire circuit 8 times. Move from one station to the next as quickly as possible. If necessary, rest 1 minute between circuits.

Hand Walkout

From a standing position, bend and touch the floor with your hands. (Bend your knees if you have to.) Then, while keeping your lower back naturally arched, walk your hands as far forward as you can. Walk your hands back to your feet. That's 1 rep.

Rotational Straight-Leg Deadlift

Stand on your left foot, bending your left leg slightly. Now slowly bend forward, reaching toward your left foot with your right hand. Touch your foot and return to the starting position. That's 1 rep. Alternate sides (4 each).

T-Pushup

Do a pushup, and then rotate your right arm up toward the ceiling; pivot on your toes and lower your heel to the ground. Return to the starting position and repeat, this time lifting your left arm. Count 1 rep each time you reach an arm toward the ceiling.

Warrior Lunge

Keep both feet pointed forward as you move your left foot back about 3 feet and drop your left knee. Simultaneously reach both hands overhead and look up and back. Return to the starting position, switch legs, and repeat. Do 8 reps total (4 each side).

Handstand Pushup

Place your hands on the floor 6 inches in front of a wall. Kick up to a handstand with your heels resting against the wall. Slowly lower your head toward the floor. Press back up. That's 1 rep. Too difficult? Do pushups with your feet on a box.

Burpee

Stand upright. Shift your hips back, squat quickly, place your hands on the floor, and kick your feet back so you're in a pushup position. Perform a pushup; then jump both feet forward, stand, and jump up into the air. That's 1 rep. 

Too fat or too thin, it's the same emotional illness By DR ROBERT LEFEVER

Too fat or too thin, it's the same emotional illness

By DR ROBERT LEFEVER

The recent story of the lady who was vastly overweight, slimmed determinedly and became anorexic, is one I have heard many times. 

The opposite is equally common, when people who are anorexic lose their determined control and become over-eaters.

So is the middle ground of bulimia, when bingeing is followed by purging, vomiting or starving in order to stay at a constant weight.

We completely misunderstand eating disorders if we think of them as being primarily due to diet, nutrition and body weight.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychological illness. Some research shows the rate of those who die of their illness to be as high as 1 in 10, while many others never fully recover from their disease

They are emotional illnesses and really there is only one illness: the use of one or another aspect of eating behaviour to change the way we feel.

I should know: I've got an eating disorder. 

My weight used to vary, up and down, by fifty pounds. The most I ever lost in one stretch was twenty pounds in three weeks.

Whatever I took off always went back on again. 

I was always on a diet. I was always trying to eat sensibly. I failed every time.

I looked in the mirror and asked myself, 'Why are you doing this?'

I did not have the answer.

I looked to my childhood for causes and I found plenty. 

In due course I looked at my wife's childhood. She had vastly more reason than I did to develop an eating disorder, or some other compulsive behaviour, but she had none.

My mother had an eating disorder. Her mother was alcoholic. Her brother died from nicotine addiction.

I believe that my addictive nature, which comes out in several ways, was genetically inherited.

It could have been diagnosed in my childhood if people knew what they were looking for.

The crucial question, in addictive behaviour, is to ask why we do something - not specifically what or when or how much we do.

For this question the answer, in those of us who have an addictive tendency, is always the same: to change the way we feel.

Other people use food or alcohol for the taste. They use drugs or gambling for a bit of fun. They smoke or use caffeine to be sociable. They use shopping and spending to buy things or give things. They use exercise to get fit or relax

Whether starving or binging , eating disorders are emotional illnesses and really there is only one illness: the use of one or another aspect of eating behaviour to change the way we feel

We find all that very strange. Why on earth would they ever use a mood-altering substance or process if not primarily to change the way they feel?

People like me, with an eating disorder, do not primarily need doctors or dieticians, except to save our lives in extreme instances.

Nor do we need counsellors or therapists or psychotherapists, psychologists or psychiatrists or anyone else in the healthcare business.

We need each other - people who understand us from the inside. I learned from a lady called Shirley. She told me what she did and I followed her suggestions.

My weight hasn't changed, outside a range of 5 pounds, in 27 years.
More importantly, I enjoy life, I have mutually fulfilling relationships and I am spontaneous, creative and enthusiastic.

I can also be a right pain in the arse. Some things never change.