If you’ve ever flung a rubber band, snapped one on someone, or bundled pencils with them; you know their strength.  

Resistance bands are like giant rubber bands used for exercise.

Some are thick pieces of rubber, others are hollow-tubing.
Some have handles, others are simply rubber.
Some are small, others are over 2ft long.
 
Whatever the type, there are over 300+ studies that have been published on the benefits of resistance bands (and elastic resistance).

Let’s explore eleven BIG benefits for using resistance bands.

#1: Versatility

Versatility is one of the most important qualities in workout equipment.

Essentially, this is how many different ways you can use it. Some fitness equipment only has one or two uses. Not with bands. You can use bands in dozens of different ways including: flexibility exercises, strength exercises, recovery exercises, mobility exercises, and even cardiovascular exercises.

#2: As Effective As Traditional Strength Training

Lifting dumbbells or free weights is one way to build strength.

However, research shows that workout programs using resistance bands (and other elastic tubing) increases muscle size, muscle strength, and drops body fat similar to strength training programs. This is because your muscles don’t know the difference between training with bands or free-weights – as long as the resistance is similar.

#3: Strengthens the Rotator Cuff

According to the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 70% of the population will have shoulder pain during their lifetime.

Even those who recover, 25% re-injure themselves. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one is weakness in the rotator cuff. Bands are a powerful tool to help this. A study by Louisiana State University found that training with resistance bands strengthened the rotator cuff muscles of baseball pitchers better than dumbbells.

#4: Strengthens the Shoulders

There are lots of ways to strengthen the shoulder, but bands appear to be a superior way.

The American Journal of Sports Medicine published a study looking at collegiate tennis players who used resistance bands compared to those who did not. They found shoulder strength increased dramatically in tennis players who trained with bands. Plus, the speed of their serves increased as well!

#5: Prevents Cheating

This is a very rare quality in fitness equipment.

When you lift normal weights, it’s easy to cheat using momentum to complete the exercise. Instead of the muscles working, momentum does most of the work. Using bands, you can’t use momentum because the tension comes the stretching of the band, not the weight of the piece of equipment. The constant tension from the band forces the muscles to keep working.

#6: Can Provide Heavy Resistance

Bands can provide impressive resistance.

Most people don’t think of bands for building strength. Instead, they think of them used in physical therapy for rehab or stretching. The truth is, some bands provide well over 100 pounds of resistance. That means, you can challenge the muscles just like you would with barbells, free-weights, or machines.

#7: Can Assist You in Difficult Exercises

This is another unique advantage of bands.

For example, if you can’t quite do a pushup, a band can be suspended above you, assisting you with the exercise. Or if you can’t do a pullup, you can drape a band over the bar, so it reduces the amount of weight you have to lift. As your strength improves, you can use a lighter and lighter band until you don’t need a band at all.

#8: Challenges Your Body In New Ways

Bands provide more resistance, the more they are stretched.

Think about the squat. Or just sitting down in a chair. Typically, the easiest part of the exercise is ¾ of the way up when you’re about to stand up. Well, by using a band, you can make that last ¼ the toughest part of the exercise. This strengthens your body in ways that weights (or body weight) cannot. Plus, the more you challenge your body in new ways, the better results you get.  

#9: Joint Distraction

Joints can close down when there is not enough ‘space’ in a joint.

When this happens, muscles or ligaments can get impinged causing pain or tissue damage. One way of addressing this is using bands to pull the joint so it ‘distracts’ or creates more space. More space equals more clearance. This can be done with the shoulders, hips, and even the ankles.

#10: Flexibility

This is the most common use of bands.

Instead of having to use gravity or attempting to force a stretch, the band does it for you. Typically, this allows you to relax into a greater stretch. The more you pull the band, the greater the stretch.

#11: Easy to Travel With

Bands are a great travel companion.

They are light-weight and don’t take up much space. Just stuff a couple into a bag or suitcase and you’re all ready to knock out workouts on the road. Or in a hotel room. With just one band, you have dozens of exercises at your disposal.

And with all those benefits, this single piece of equipment can be just the thing you need to start kickin-butt in your workouts again. 

A mystery was brewing on the mountainous French Island of Corsica.
 
According to a local legend, some animal was attacking goats and sheep at night. But nobody knew what it was until 2009 when someone finally trapped one. It was a cat-fox. When researchers took a look, they saw that it resembled a house cat except it was a little larger and its tail had black rings around it with a black tip.
 
When researchers looked at the cat-fox’s fur under the microscope they were shocked. These animals weren’t related to any European wildcat… or known species in the world! The closest thing its DNA resembled was that of an African forest cat. (Which poses an interesting mystery as to how it found its way onto this island in the first place?)
 
Even though at first glance the cat-fox just looks like a domestic cat, when you take a closer look you’ll notice it has some unusual qualities such as wide ears, short whiskers, and dog-like teeth. Plus, it has dense fur which protects it from ticks and fleas which show you this is no ordinary cat.
 
People mistake hunger in the same way. They think they are hungry. But when you take a closer look, they are mistaking real hunger for external cues such fancy food packaging… smells from a nearby food court… pressure from family or coworkers… “It’s time to eat” (aka rules)… etc.
 
External cues are external factors that determine your eating behavior. Internal cues are based on your actual hunger or fullness levels. They are based on “feeling satisfied” or feeling actual hunger. In this issue we’re going to dive into how to get in touch with real internal cues instead of getting fooled by external ones.

Let’s look at three ways to detect your body’s real hunger signals:

#1: Ask New Questions 

The questions we ask ourselves drive our decisions.

Dr. Susan Albers who specializes in mindful eating poses three questions that immediately help separate whether we’re eating for emotions or for actual hunger.
 

• Am I eating because of low energy, rumbling stomach or because I am frustrated, overwhelmed, scared, or happy?
• Am I eating to energize my body or am I wanting comfort, distraction, relief or security?
• Am I picking nutrient-dense foods or sugary, salty foods?

 
According to Dr. Albers, when someone is experiencing real hunger they will eat a wide variety of foods to get out of hunger. However, when someone is having an emotionally-charged craving, they will gravitate towards a specific food. Think about when someone is driven towards something specific like ice cream or Zebra Cakes.

 #2: Practice Hara Hachi Bu  

How do you know when a meal is over?

When your plate is clean?
When the food is gone?
When everyone is done eating?

Many of us have been taught since we were young to eat until we are full. Maybe even until we are stuffed! But rarely do people calibrate what real hunger feels like.
 
Think about hunger like a spectrum. If you’ve ever stuffed yourself silly (like on Thanksgiving) we’ll call that 150% full. And when you are ravenous that’s 0%. Most people believe the goal is to hit 100% fullness with each meal. Instead we want to embrace the Japanese term hara hachi bu, which roughly translate to “eat until the belly is 80% full”. Not 100%.
 
It’s eating until you are no longer hungry. Or eating until you feel satisfied. Most people haven’t calibrated their hunger like this. One way of doing this is during a meal, ask yourself, how full am I on a scale 0-100? Aim for that 80 mark.
 
This may take a bit of trial and error. But you’ll find that point where you feel okay, and feel content. Not bloated and uncomfortable. Another way of doing this is with one less bite per meal. According to Dr. Albers 

 
#3: Pump The Brakes  

Slowing down meals is probably one of the hardest eating habits I’ve seen people try to break.

So many people are used to shoveling down meals without any thought. I’ve been guilty of this so I can get back to work. Or squeezing in a meal in between training sessions.

But the slower you eat, the easier it’ll be to catch yourself before you’re overly full. 
 
One way to “pump the brakes” is simply drinking more water. I’ve shared about the power of drinking more water (have you started yet?) and how drinking 12oz before a meal burns extra calories and causes you to eat less. The other benefit of this is that it slows you down. 
 
When you do this, you’ll notice you’ll feel satisfied with less food. It will literally change your perception of a meal and how much food is required to feel full. Plus, typically you’ll feel better because you aren’t overly full and feeling “heavy” when you leave the dinner table. In essence, you’ll catch yourself before you hit that 100% fullness level.
 
For me, a few things that have helped with this are:
1) Put your fork or utensil down frequently
2) Stop to drink more water during the meal. ​

What’s the difference between the two?

Probiotics are the “good bacteria” in your digestive tract.
Prebiotics are what the “good bacteria” consume.

​Think of prebiotics like fertilizer or plant food for growing your lawn. Your good bacteria need it to flourish and grow.

What happens to prebiotics in your system?

When you eat prebiotic fiber, neither your stomach acid nor the digestive enzymes in your small intestines can break it down. So it travels to the large intestines where the good bacteria consume it. Both animal and human studies have found that prebiotics allow good bacteria to flourish, which stops the growth of harmful bacteria.

When our bacteria “eat” these prebiotics the by-products are short-chain fatty-acids (SCFA’s) such as butyrate, propionate, and acetate. These help absorb minerals, stop cancerous/ toxic components, and boost nutrient circulation. Some of these SCFA’s are even able to sneak through the gut lining and enter the blood stream. This means prebiotics are not just affecting the gut but causing chain reactions in other organs and systems as well!

For instance, 2001 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that prebiotics (inulin and oligofructans) helped boost the immune system against viral vaccines such as measles and influenza.

​Other studies show prebiotics help decrease the risk of allergic skin diseases. These SCFAs can even travel up the vagus nerve into the brain and affect neurotransmitter levels. In fact, a 2015 review in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry study found that prebiotics can impact mood, learning, memory, and even psychiatric disorders.

Deep in the Amazon rainforest is an indigenous tribe known as the Tsimane (Chee-mah-nay). This 16,000 person tribe in Bolivia covers around 3,000 square miles of the jungle.

To survive, they depend on fishing, farming and hunting. And researchers have discovered they have the healthiest arteries on the planet. In fact, they are 5x less likely to have coronary atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) than Americans. Beyond that, researchers have never found this type of cardiovascular health in a single population.

To put this in perspective, an 80-year old Tsimane man had the equivalent “vascular age” as a 50-year old American. Researchers in this study found that only 3% of the Tsimane were moderate to high risk for heart disease and 85% had almost no risk! Compared to Americans they found 50% were moderate to high and only 14% had almost no risk!

Even when researchers looked at the Tsimane over age 75, they found 65% had almost no risk of heart disease, with 8% having moderation to high risk.

So what’s the Tsimane’s secret?

Certainly their active lifestyle is part of it. They spend less than 10% of the day sedentary. They are busy chopping through the jungle with machetes, fishing, hunting, or farming. But their nutrition points to another clue. They consume a high percentage of starchy root vegetables known as resistant starches.

Resistant starches are a starch that cannot be completely digested by the body. Instead, the bacteria in our digestive system break it down into short-chain fatty acids which increases mineral absorption, protects us from cancerous compounds, stops the growth of bad bacteria in our gut, and even helps organs outside the digestive system.

One of the most powerful effects is on blood sugar and insulin.

Studies in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Diabetes Medicine and Diabetes Care have found that resistant starches can help increase insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels after a meal. A 2012 study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that just 15-30 grams of resistant starches increased insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese men. This improvement was equivalent to dropping 10% of their body weight!

Resistant starches also create a “second meal effect”. When you eat resistant starches, not only do your blood sugar levels not spike as much, but this effect carries over into the next meal as well!

Here are a few resistant starches that the Tsiname people consume:

Cassava

Cassava, also called manioc or yuca (not yucca), is a starchy root vegetable. In fact, it looks similar to a white potato. Many developing countries consume it because it is cheap, plentiful, drought resistant and can survive in the ground for up to three years. It is often made into tapioca or ground into cassava flour.

Critics of cassava will say that it contains very few nutrients and is high in calories. It does not have a ton of protein, but has more than yams and white potatoes. It also does not have a high concentration of vitamins and minerals, but it has a high diversity of them (including potassium, manganese, zinc, calcium, folate, B-vitamins, and many more).

And even though it is similar to a white potato and actually has higher calories, it is a low glycemic food. Meaning: it does not spike your blood sugar much- which is great for weight-loss and for diabetics. The same cannot be said of white flour, white potatoes and refined carbohydrates that most people consume on a regular basis. Plus, it’s grain-free and gluten-free. There are plenty of foods that are high-calorie and are healthy. High-calorie does not always mean unhealthy.

Cassava cannot be eaten raw so make sure to cook it and prepare it correctly. Cassava flour is easy to work with though and available at most grocery stores. You can replace it for white flour in many recipes (depending on what you are cooking). You can use it in desserts and treats in combination with coconut and almond flour. Chebe brand is one of my favorite mixes for cheese bread and pizza using manioc (cassava) flour.

Plantains

Plantains also called “desert bananas” are extremely common in tropical areas. These banana-looking vegetables carry way more vitamins and minerals than other starchy vegetables (such as potatoes). Like cassava, they are gluten and grain-free. They are loaded with potassium, magnesium and vitamin B-6, A and C. In fact, a cup of plantains has 32% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C. And 34% your recommended amount of vitamin B6, which helps heart health.

It also has more potassium than bananas. The USDA has found that most people don’t get enough potassium even though it helps decrease blood pressure and heart disease risk. Plus, according to research in The Journal of Ethnopharmacology found that plantains have compounds that may be anti-inflammatory.

Plantains can be found at the grocery store very inexpensively. Don’t be fooled though, it does not taste like a banana and needs to be cooked first. You can either chop it into slices and make your own plantain chips. Or you can just buy your own plantain chips. 

This is one article of the January 2020 Mind-Body Breakthroughs. 
Here's what else was covered this month: ​

• How to save a 103-year-old American Dream. In 2006, Ford Motor company was a sinking ship and in desperate need for help. Here’s how the new CEO broke through the limiting beliefs and behaviors holding it back. Page 1
• The science of intermittent fasting. This popular diet has picked up steam recently. Here’s the truth about it. Plus, here are four things that happen to your body during this “cleanse.” Page 6. 
• How to break the ‘impossible’ 4-minute mile. For hundreds of years athletes tried to break the “glass ceiling” known as the 4-mile minute mile. Until a medical student took on the challenge. Page 9. 

These articles were only released to Mind-Body Breakthrough subscribers. 
If you would like access to them, fill out the form below to receive a free copy. ​

What makes a food healthy?

Low sugar?
Low carb?
Low calories?
Whole grain?
Low fat?
High fat?
Full of vitamins?
Low cholesterol?
High in antioxidants?

Today people have different definitions on what constitutes healthy. And while different nutrition plans will feud over certain subtleties, one thing they can agree on is the reduction or elimination of processed foods. But what exactly are processed foods?

According to the International Food Information Council, food processing is “any deliberate change in a food that occurs before it’s available for us to eat”. So foods that are packaged or frozen are considered “processed food”. That doesn’t mean all processed foods are bad.

In fact, here are four categories of processed foods that were recently reviewed:

#1 Unprocessed or minimally processed foods

These are foods with plant origins.

​This would include fruits, nuts, seeds, stems, or leaves). Or they have animal origins (fresh meat, eggs, etc.). When a food is minimally processed they do not gain any new substance, the only change is they may lose parts of the original food. So this could be dried beans, eggs, unsalted nuts, frozen fish, frozen meats, frozen veggies or frozen fruits, How much does the average American consume? 29.6% of their daily calories come from this.

#2: Processed culinary ingredients

These are ingredients that have been extracted from parts of food, purified or gathered from nature. Many of these have been pressed, milled, stabilized, or pulverized. Or they have other agents or additives mixed with them. These could be flours, sugars, plant oils or animal fats. Researchers found the average American eats 2.9% of their daily calories from these.

#3: Processed food products

These are foods that have things like salt, oil or sugar added to them to increase aesthetics and how palatable they are. Examples included foods that are canned or bottled with syrups, salts, oils or sugars or processes such curing, salt-pickling or smoking. So this would be canned fruit (in syrup), cheese, salted nuts, canned veggies, processed meats like bacon or ham. Researchers discovered the average American eats 32.6% of their daily calories from this group.

#4 Ultra-processed products

​Okay, best for last. To give this description justice I’m going to use the exact quote researchers used: 

Low metabolism can have many sources, but one of them deals with a certain type of fat. 

People have two types of fat: white and brown fat.

White fat is what people typically refer to when they mention losing body fat. This fat is not very metabolic and is usually the culprit of health consequences. However, brown fat is quite the opposite.

It is very metabolic and when it’s activated, it tends to even burn white fat! Typically babies have the highest amounts of brown fat and have less as they reach adulthood. Most people have pounds of white fat but ounces to grams of brown fat. And while white fat is stored primarily around the stomach, hips and thighs, brown fat does not have a predictable pattern (although it’s more often around neck and shoulder area).

Plus, research has emerged that shows brown fat may help fight off chronic diseases. In a 2021 study published by Nature Medicine, 52,000 subjects were studied. Only 10% of subjects had detectable brown fat (seen via PET scans). And those subjects were less likely to have heart and metabolic conditions such as type II diabetes.

In fact, out of those with detectable brown fat, 4.6% had type II diabetes (compared to 9.5%) and 18.9% had abnormal cholesterol levels (compared to 22.2%). And they had lower levels of congestive heart failure, hypertension.

So what controls brown fat?

Researchers used to think that brown fat just disappears as we age. However, some research has shown that this is not the case. Exposure to colder temperatures can actually increase brown fat – and with that an increase in metabolism! In one study, researchers found that they could turn stem cells into brown fat instead of white fat with temperature change.

In a small 2014 study, published in Diabetes, five subjects stayed in rooms set for different temperatures for four months. They did their normal everyday activities and then stayed and slept in their rooms for 10 hours each evening. They wore the same outfits in their rooms. They used the same type of bedding. They all ate the same amount of calories that had the same nutrient density. Each month they had fat and muscle biopsies, PET/CT scans of the upper back and neck, and measurements on energy expenditure.

After a month of exposure to the cold rooms, subjects increased their brown fat by 42%! Plus, they increased their fat metabolism by 10%, had significant changes in the hormones adiponectin and leptin (metabolism hormones), and improved their insulin sensitivity after meals. And remember this was just after one month of exposure to colder temperatures.

So why does the cold cause an increase in brown fat?

A 2014 study published in Cell Metabolism opened up this topic even further. Scientists have known that during contraction of the muscles, the body releases a hormone called irisin. Irisin can literally take white fat cells and convert them into brown fat cells. But they haven’t known exactly how this happens. In this study, they had 10 female subjects exercise on a stationary bike. Researchers found that during brief intense bouts of cycling, irisin levels rose. And during an hour of low to moderate intensity, it rose 3x. This demonstrated exercise’s power to boost irisin levels.

However, they took this study one step further. This time they wrapped the subjects in water-infused thermoblankets that progressively went from 80 degrees to 53. When this happened, subjects burned 48% more energy. And when they measured their muscular activity, they found that it increased by 88% for those who shivered (13% for those who didn’t shiver). Plus, the more shivering, the more irisin was released.

“Cold-induced shivering, which is an energy-inefficient mechanism, stimulates the highly efficient brown adipose tissue to maintain the core temperature of the organism”. - Dr. Francesco S. Celi

This is one article of the February 2021 Mind-Body Breakthroughs. 
Here's what else was covered this month: 

• The Great White Hurricane. In March 1888, the National Weather Service predicted a southern front would dissipate off the East Coast. Instead it smashed into an Arctic cold front creating the most devastating blizzard in U.S. history. [page 2]
• 3 health benefits of outdoor winter activities. Tired of trudging through the snow? Or bundling up for the cold? Remember these three this winter. Burn 34% more calories by doing this activity but only on certain days. [page 3]
• The race to the South Pole. In 1911, two explorers embarked on a race to the South Pole. Here’s how each one prepared for the treacherous, sub-zero terrain. And which one ultimately succeeded. [page 6]

These articles were only released to Mind-Body Breakthrough subscribers. 
If you would like access to them, fill out the form below to receive a free copy.