Archive for August, 2011

Five Super Foods That Will Make you Look Younger!

The secret to healthy youthful looking skin lies in the food you eat, which
will keep you looking younger than your years!  Obviously avoiding nicotine
and excessive sunlight will help but dermatologist, Dr. Nicholas Perricone
says, “the wrong food choices cause inflammation down to the cellular level.
And while you can’t see it, that inflammation leads directly to wrinkling,
sagging, and premature aging.”

Here are the 5 Super Foods to eat to prevent that from happening:

1.  WILD SALMON

Astaxanthin is the pigment that makes the fish pink and powerfully
helps fight against free radicals. These are molecules that damage cell
membranes and DNA and cause skin to age.  A study found that eating
one serving every five days can prevent actinic keratoses.  Those ugly rough
patches that are precancerous.

2.  SWEET POTATOES

Beta-carotene, which makes these potatoes orange helps balance your
skins PH, combat dryness, and promotes cellular turnover, which all
results in smoother skin.

3.  TOMATOES

Lycopene, the tomatoes red pigment, is a potent antioxidant that shields skin
from sun damage, like sunscreen, but from the inside out.  To best absorb
lycopene eat tomatoes with olive oil.  This is one of my favorite sides with
lamb chops or fillet Mignon, giving you the protein, healthy fats and nutrient
dense carbs, creating a great meal following the Rapidly Ripped Eating Strategy!

4.  CITRUS FRUITS

Vitamin C is essential to building collagen, a vital component to young
looking skin, which starts breaking down in your twenties.  Bioflavonoids, which protect skin from UV rays and help prevent cell death are also found in citrus fruits.

5.  LEAFY GREENS

Lutein, which is found in spinach, kale and other greens, helps protect skin from sun-induced inflammation and wrinkles.

Bonus Tip to Prevent Wrinkles:

Stay away from white foods!  Here is another reason to avoid white breads, pasta, rice and other refined grain products – they’re quickly broken down to the ultimate white food: SUGAR!  Once in the blood stream, sugar bonds with protein and creates advanced glycation end products, which cause collagen to become inflamed and stiff, leading to wrinkles!

These five and many more anti-aging foods as well as the best fat burning foods, are all part of the Rapidly Ripped Program, which not only will help you get lean, ripped and muscular, but will also help you to continue to “improve with age!”

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of “Rapidly Ripped”
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner

Question:  How much protein do you need and how much protein can your body efficiently handle in each meal?

Answer:  Well it really depends on a lot of variables.  However, as a general rule of thumb, for the regular exerciser who is active and working out (with both resistance training and cardio) 3-6 days a week and wants to build a muscular, ripped physique, I have always used the formula that I have read and researched throughout the years that states to go for 1 gram or protein for every pound of body weight!

So if you are 180 pounds you would consume 180 grams of protein per day and even up to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight if you want to build and add muscle to your frame.  I have used this formula for years and the results are obvious and it will work for you as well.

Now you may be thinking well that makes sense but if I am eating 5-6 small balance meals a day, how many grams of protein can my body handle most efficiently in each meal so that the protein goes toward building lean muscle and is not getting stored as body fat?

Well, the body cannot use more than about ¼ gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per meal to build lean quality muscle tissue.  In other words, a 180 pound male does not need to exceed 45 grams of protein per meal, and a 120 pound woman does not need to exceed 30 grams of protein per meal to maximize their muscle-building potential.  Keep in mind that consuming more than this per meal will not hurt your muscle building potential; it just won’t improve it.

So if you are 180 pounds and are consuming 5-6 small balanced meals per day, nicely balanced between protein and complex carbohydrates, as stated in my  nutrition and exercise e-book, Rapidly Ripped – The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life,  your protein requirement for each meal should be around 30 grams but not more than 45 grams.  This will place you in an anabolic state and keep you in a positive nitrogen balance, allowing you to optimally utilize the protein in each meal most efficiently, so that it works on building and maintaining lean ripped muscle and not getting stored as body fat!

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of “Rapidly Ripped”
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner