Recent Entries

The Truth About Chai & 2 Ways to Drink Chai That Is Actually Healthy.

February 8th, 2010

Last week’s interview with Nancy Appleton on “Suicide By Sugar” got a lot of people talking. One listener wrote in and asked me about chai tea.

Listener Theresa asks: “Is chai tea OK for me or my kids to be drinking? We order it nearly every time we go to Starbucks.”

So is Chai Tea healthy? Is it an alternative to calorie-laden frappucinos or other beverages you might find at the coffee shop? With comfortable and warming flavors of clover and cinnamon, it can’t be all that bad, right?

I checked out a few of the recipes out there for Chai Tea. Cane sugar, honey and citric acid are three of the primary ingredients in the syrupy concentrate that is used to make the chai tea latte at Starbucks, which hammers you with 220-300 calories per drink.

Another version of chai, Oregan Chai Tea Concentrate, is probably the most popular version of chai used by most coffeeshops and restaurants, and although quite tasty, delivers a walloping 19 grams of sugar from “organic” evaporated cane juice. Don’t let the “organic” part of that fool you. Organic sugar is just the pure, nutrient and fiber stripped extract from sugar cane. Sure, they may not have sprayed the sugar cane with herbicides and pesticides. But it’s just pure sugar.

Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 6% [?]

Podcast Episode #80: Which Foods Contain Hidden Sugar That You Didn’t Even Know About!

February 3rd, 2010

In this February 3rd free audio episode: what you don’t know about sugar, restless leg syndrome, getting rid of sciatic pain, whether something called “Ripped Freak” actually works, appetite suppressing tricks, when to foam roll, marathon before a triathlon, and excessively high heart rates during exercise.

Remember, if you have any trouble listening, downloading, or transferring to your .mp3 player just e-mail ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com. And don’t forget to leave the podcast a ranking in iTunes – it only takes 2 minutes of your time and helps grow our healthy community! Just click here to go to our iTunes page and leave feedback.

—————————————-

Featured Topic

In the first official featured topic of 2010, I introduce you to Nancy Appleton, PhD. You may have read her article (which was featured at BenGreenfieldFitness.com last month) entitled “143 Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health”, which was an excerpt from Nancy’s shocking but well-researched book “Suicide by Sugar”, which you can look at by clicking here.

Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 19% [?]

When There’s a Glut of Nutrition Supplements Out There, Finally Something New Under the Sun…

February 1st, 2010

Solar_Synergy

There occasionally comes a time in my hectic lifestyle of endurance, nutrition and fitness coaching, training and racing where I stumble upon something that truly alters my performance and recovery in a significantly positive way. But for each of these instances, there are a thousand examples of products that just don’t seem to work, and waste time and money for my athletes and myself. So when Mr. Stout from Mt. Capra called me on the phone and asked me to try their new “sports recovery” product, I was naturally skeptical, since the market is saturated with literally hundreds of recovery compounds.

What arrived in the mail the next day was a small canister, about the size of a yogurt container, of something called “Solar Synergy”. When I opened the lid, the container revealed a dark orange powder that smelled like a mix of sweet tropical aromas and salty minerals. I was instructed to take about 1 tablespoon per day, mixed into a glass of water or smoothie – preferably after a workout.

They also sent over a nutrition label image which you can read here and a facts sheet PDF document which you can read here.

Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 32% [?]

Ben Greenfield launches world’s first ever online triathlon school – charter memberships still available!

January 29th, 2010

Charter Memberships still available for a limited time…

Are you a triathlon enthusiast?

If so, we’re excited that you’ve made it this far.

You’re about to be a part of triathlon history.

You see, traditionally, to get top-notch triathlon coaching and have all your questions instantly answered at the snap of your fingers, you had to either pay big bucks or know somebody important.

And if you wanted to go out and learn tips, tricks and techniques for the complete beginner triathlete to see how to set-up a race transition area to the seasoned expert who wants to learn how to shave a few seconds off their race time, you had to go search all over the library, the bookstore and the internet for the training, audios, videos and articles that just might point you in the right direction.

But just imagine if you tried to learn how to play basketball, operate a computer, or fix your car by wandering aimlessly around and just “picking stuff up” as you learned it … it’d be time-consuming, frustrating, and full of mistakes and errors!

Learning the sport of triathlon is no different. You can either try to figure things out on your own, or you can get laser-focused access to exactly what you want to learn for your sport of triathlon right when you need it, in a personal, friendly and easy-to-understand format.

And that is exactly why we have launched …

… the planet’s first-ever online triathlon school …

Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 24% [?]

Podcast Episode #79: What Does Your Body Use First For Energy – Carbohydrate, Protein or Fat?

January 27th, 2010

In this January 27 free audio episode: uric acid in your foods, soy milk choices, bilateral breathing during swimming, are rice cakes OK?, glucose vs. glycogen, beer vs. wine for losing weight, and how to choose your chicken.

This is the last week that the podcast from Ben Greenfield Fitness will primarily focus on “Listener Q&A’s”, since Ben’s undertaking of a huge triathlon-focused side project that is going to bring you an instant and affordable way to get customized triathlon training advice LAUNCHES THIS WEEK, ON THURSDAY AT MIDNIGHT! To become a $1 Charter Member simply go to http://www.rockstartriathlete.com.

Remember, if you have any trouble listening, downloading, or transferring to your .mp3 player just e-mail ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com. And don’t forget to leave the podcast a ranking in iTunes – it only takes 2 minutes of your time and helps grow our healthy community! Just click here to go to our iTunes page and leave feedback.

Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 35% [?]

Am I Too Hard On Modern Medicine?

January 26th, 2010

Folks, you seem to like Dr. Carolyn Dean so much, I’ve decided to get her on for another awesome free audio podcast this month! Prepare for a mid-February interview with the nation’s leading natural physician. In celebration of the upcoming interview, and the addition of Dr. Dean’s book “Death by Modern Medicine” to the BenGreenfieldFitness.com website, I’m releasing another article from Dr. Dean, entitled “Am I Too Hard On Modern Medicine?”

After reading this article, do you agree with Dr. Dean? Do you have questions that you’d like me to ask her about modern medicine in the upcoming interview? Just leave your comment below with the question you’d like to ask Dr. Dean when I interview her in just 2 weeks…

Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND| “Am I Too Hard On Modern Medicine?”

A reader of this blog wrote me to say…

“I do not believe in blacklisting either alternative or mainstream medicine in the good/bad debate of who is the best, etc. There is good and bad in both. Your message would be more powerful if you criticized less and focused on the integrative approach to mainstream and alternative medicine…”

This sounds all nice and harmonious. Sort of how we all think the world “should be” versus how it “really is.” It doesn’t reflect a true understanding of the disastrous medical situation that is taking millions of lives and costing billions of dollars each year . Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 32% [?]

A Video for You Triathletes Out There – What I’ve Been Up to the Past 8 Days

January 25th, 2010

Just think…you can be there next year! For more details, or to get to the top of the waitlist for next year’s Pacific Elite Fitness triathlon training camp at the Endurance Ranch in Austin, Texas, just click here!

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 32% [?]

Podcast Episode #78: How To Stay Fit When You’re Partying.

January 20th, 2010

New_Years_Eve

In this January 20 free audio episode: vitamin D, good carbohydrates, using weight vest and ankle weights for calorie burning, skiing for triathlon training, too much urination during exercise, exercise and hashimotos disease, and how to stay fit when you’re partying.

Remember, if you have any trouble listening, downloading, or transferring to your .mp3 player just e-mail ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com. And don’t forget to leave the podcast a ranking in iTunes – it only takes 2 minutes of your time and helps grow our healthy community! Just click here to go to our iTunes page and leave feedback.

—————————————-

Anonymous asks: Hi there Ben, i have a question on what is considered the safest least  injury free running form?  heel to toe   or  midfoot to forefoot? Also  any thought on Newton Running shoes? i run in a new pair of Asics  pronation support shoe..i roll inward ..ive had trouble with hip and  knee when .physical thearpy said hip is rotated and gluteus medius is  weak. He also suggested midfoot to forefoot running is better on the  body and he wears Newtons.  i looked up proper running form and seems  more people run midfoot to forefoot as well. Any thoughts or advice on this. Thanks.

Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 52% [?]

2009’s Top Ten Most Downloaded Podcasts from BenGreenfieldFitness!

January 18th, 2010

top-ten-gold

Drumroll please…

Whether you’re a brand new fan of the podcast at http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com or you’ve been a long-time listener, you’ll probably be interested in the freshly tallied results of our most popular podcasts of 2009.

I was actually a bit surprised as I went through the results and statistics of our “most downloaded” episodes. It always amazes me which podcasts you like the most!

OK, without further ado, here are the Top 10 Most Downloaded Podcasts of 2009 from http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com. Remember, you can listen to all of these for free by simply going to the shownotes for that episode at http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com, or by simply doing a “search” on the right upper side of the Ben Greenfield Fitness website, or by simply clicking below…

10th place: Podcast Episode #31: Mysterious “Product X” Destroys Microbes, Blowtorches Body Fat, Fights Fatigue, and Powers Performance, with a farmer from the Palouse.

9th place: Podcast Episode #38: Learn Exactly How Low Fat Diets Make You Fat, with Cary Nosler.

Read the rest of this entry »

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Popularity: 55% [?]