A new toxin...

I saw this video (see here) over the Christmas holidays and was reminded of it by some of my co-workers. Dr. Robert Lustig, M.D. a pediatrician and expert in pediatric hormone disorders at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) gave this very compelling lecture. You NEED to see it.

Gary Taubes has a good article (see here), worth your time as well on the subject matter. Look at the two graphics on the left and right to see how much sugar and high fructose corn syrup the average person consumes respectively. YIKES!

Now consider what changes you will make in your life. Let me offer a few. First, start consuming Bios Life Slim. Slim reduces the physiological impact of sugars on your body. Two, stop drinking soda! Sodas are the hidden sugar bomb! While in Mexico last month, everywhere I went, I saw people drinking Coca Cola, Sprite, or Fanta. It's no wonder that the number one cause of death in Mexico is diabetes mellitus. Drinking empty calories is a quick way to adding inches to your waistline. More importantly is puts undue strain on your pancreas potentially leading to chronic diseases. Lastly cut out foods made from white flour. This means no white bread, rolls, white rice, doughnuts, pies, cookies, candies, etc...It may seem dramatic but it really isn't and it's very simple to do. Simply switch out the white food with food of color (vegetables, lentils, beans, etc...) Your body needs energy but it also needs vitamins and minerals to function properly. White flour based foods simply provide energy but not the other essential vitamins and minerals your body needs. You are very literally eating empty calories. Now you may experience a withdrawal period (I did) but persevere and plug through it. You will begin to look and feel better with those simple changes.

Some questions about Matcha...

I just spoke with our Matcha partners in Japan. They are safe and doing well. For your information, the matcha fields are located more that 300 miles south of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. As of March 23, 2011 no radiation had been detected. In speaking on with our partners today, they have confirmed the absence of radiation.

One item of note is that all of the product that is available today or that will be available this year is from the 2010 harvest. The 2010 crop reserve is being held in a cool secure facility with no radiation exposure. I received results confirming the absence of any radiation in their reserves. Even though the farms and processing facilities are located far to the south, as a precaution all material will be tested for radiation and will need to meet all Japanese and US food safety regulations.

We are confident that we will continue to be able to provide our matcha products without any delay or problems that may have been caused by the devastating earthquake and tsunami. I invite you to continue to consider donating to the relief efforts. As you know, these funds are matched dollar for dollar by the Make Life Better Foundation (see here). Remember that we ARE about Making Life Better.

A boost to your slimming efforts...

In 2009, a consortium of researchers lead by a group at Tufts University in Boston, MA, looked into the effects of a green tea-catechin rich drink on body fat distribution in exercising obese adults (see here). Two groups were both set to an exercise routine. One group drank a catechin-rich drink while the other was given a placebo. The group drinking the catechin-rich drink tended to have lower body weight after the 12 week trial. The green tea group also had less abdominal fat, lower triglycerides and free fatty acids. Something to consider when embarking on new health regime.

However, compelling the results, I wonder if this group wouldn't have achieved better results using matcha in place of a green tea extract. One of the pitfalls to using extracts is that extracts by their definition are only a fraction of the original source. In this case, green tea extracts or catechins, lack all of the many nutritional components of the Camellia sinensis leaf including, chlorophyll, soluble fiber, and amino acids to name a few. Matcha retains its naturally produced caffeine that when combined with the L-theanine produces a calm alertness that rivals medications. Matcha is a tea that is eaten not steeped and as a result one "eats" 100% of all that matcha has to offer. A far cry from the mere 30% of the nutrients gained by drinking a steeped green tea.

Now, consider this potent one-two punch Slim and matcha. Take the benefits of controlled blood sugar and reduced insulin from Slim and add to it the increase in fatty acid oxidation from matcha and you have a compelling set of products to attack a global epidemic, obesity. The simplest way to validate this is for you to try it. First - measure your waist. Second, drink Slim. Third - drink E, either with Slim or in between meals (it's great because it has such a low-impact on your blood sugar. In fact, other research shows that catechins may improve insulin sensitivity.) Try it for a month then measure your waist again. You'll see a difference! Matcha is a simple, yet delicious way to boost your Slimming efforts.

Scooped and the lessons learned from it.

In the scientific community - when one of two research groups who same the same research focus publishes a paper just before the other group - it's called scooping. It's a journalistic reference to getting the "scoop" before others do. Well, I was scooped by our CEO, Mr. Stewart Hughes (see here). He posted a recently published article in Obesity addressing meal frequency in obese men (see here), great article to read that gives further evidence to our 4-4-12 rule.

Now - I had highlighted this article to produce a blog post but in the hustle and bustle of the day didn't get around to doing it. Here are the lessons that apply to us all, on the corporate side or in the field. What separates those who lead and are successful from the followers and average joes is ACTION. Leaders do -they don't wait for the opportune time. They see the opportunity and DO IT. Waiting or hesitating results in passed or lost opportunities. In our lives - we are not living by standing on the sidelines. Action makes us participants in the game of life. Who doesn't want to live a richer fuller life?

Second lesson. I have been following Jim Fobair and his teaching a new idea to extend your work day by an extra five minutes. Do five minutes more of what you should be doing. So DO and then DO a little more. Clearly - I can and will improve work but this is part of life to keep working and getting better each day. What are you doing to make your life better?