The Value of Karate

To search for the old is to understand the new.

The old, the new

This is a matter of time.

In all things man must have a clear mind.

The Way:

Who will pass it on straight and well?

-Master Funakoshi Gichin

In his Master Text, Karate-Do Kyohan, Master Funakoshi leaves behind what he believed were the "profound aspects of karate." Among these were basic stances, basic hand and foot techniques, throwing, weapons, sparring, and the patterns that made up his curriculum of movement. But before he discusses the technical aspects of his karate style, the Master describes the benefits of training in the Way.

Page 11

The Value of Karate

"AS ATHLETIC TRAINING

The Nature of karate is such that it requires the body to move in all directions, in contrast, for example to the emphasis on the arms in rowing or the legs in jumping. There is absolutely no need for concern about one-sided development of the body in karate, and the fact of uniform development may be considered to be one of the benefits of karate.

In most cases, only a minute or two is required to complete a kata. Moreover, as one continues to practice, the movements become quicker and the training as a whole more vigorous, so that one can get ample exercise from a relatively short period of time. This is an ideal form of exercise for the many people today who complain that they would like to exercise, but they just do not have the time. the little time required is, therefore, a second major advantage.

Almost no other form of exercise, be it judo, kendo, archery, swimming, or horsemanship, can be performed at any time or place as easily as karate. Most sports require a  large area, equipment, or a partner, and in this regard as well karate is the most adaptable. No specific area, equipment, or even partner is necessary, for it can be performed in a garden, living room, hallway, at any time or place that one feels the desire to practice. This is the third significant advantage of karate.

Usually, exercise suitable for men is not suitable for women, and that for women is probably not enough for men, that for people recovering from illness is not enough for healthy people, and similarly, sufficient exercise for healthy young people is too strenuous for older people or young children. Karate however, may even be practiced by the physically weak, by women, children, and by elderly people. In other words, since each individual may adjust the exercise to his own capacity, and with each unit of exercise being of but one to two minutes duration, there is no danger of overexertion or physical exhaustion. Moreover, as the body is built up and the technique become more skillful the movements naturally become more powerful, so that the amount of exercise becomes sufficient even for the healthy young man in his prime.Thus, the amount of exercise increases naturally as the training progresses, a point I would cite as the fourth athletic merit of karate.

The fact that karate may be practiced either alone or in groups is a feature unique to it. Finally, even considered purely from the standpoint of physical techniques of practical value, the individual hand or foot movements, each with its own meaning, and the many variations in the various kata sequences become challenges to learn. While enjoying and being engrossed in their study on this basis, one accrues their benefits almost without realizing it.

The value of karate as physical training may easily be demonstrated by scientific tests, and even after a year or less of practice, one can easily see for himself the tremendous improvement in his condition over its state before karate training.

My esteemed teachers, the late Masters Shishu (in Japanese, Itosu) and Azato, were both very weak in their childhood, but after starting to train in karate as a means of improving their health, they developed so much that they seemed like different people compared to their old selves and lived to become famous, in our times, as old Masters. Master Shishu lived to the venerable age of eighty-five, and Azato to that of eighty. Master Azato's own teacher, Master Matsumura, lived to be over ninety years of age. Other contemporary karate experts such as Masters Yamaguchi, Aragake, Chibana, Nakazato, Yahiku, Tokashiki, Sakihara, and Chinen, have all lived to be over eighty. These examples are indicative of the role of karate as a superior method of maintaining one's health.

AS SELF-DEFENSE

Almost all living creatures have some mechanism for defending themselves, for, where this development is incomplete, the weaker are destroyed and perish in the fierce struggle for survival. The fangs of the tiger and lion, the talons of the eagle and hawk, the poisonous sting of the bees and scorpions, and the thorns of the rose and Bengal quince; are these not all preparations for defense? But if the lower mammals, birds, insects, and plants each have such specialization, should not man, the lord of creation, be prepared as well? An appropriate basis for the reply to this question is provided by the statement: We should have no intention of harming other people, but we must try to keep out of harm's way. To protect oneself, one must find a method that will give the weak the power to defend themselves against stronger opponents. The power of karate has become well known in these times for its effectiveness in breaking boards or cracking stone without tools, and it is not an exaggeration to assert that a man well trained in this form of defense may consider the whole body to be a weapon of awesomely effective offensive power. 

Finally, although karate does have throwing techniques, it relies principally on striking, kicking, and thrusting techniques. These movements are much quicker and can escape the untrained eye. Block-attack combinations are executed simultaneously, and weaker individuals, women or young boys, do have ample strength to control a more powerful opponent with them. In short, among the advantages of karate as a means of self-defense are these: no weapons are necessary; the old or sick, or women, are able to apply it; and one can protect himself effectively even with little natural strength. These points combine to make karate a form of self-defense without equal.

AS SPIRITUAL TRAINING

Karate is no different from the other martial arts in fostering the traits of courage, courtesy, integrity, humility, and self-control in those who have found its essence. However, most of the martial arts, since their practice is harsh from the outset, are not suited to individuals of weak constitution, poor build, or weak character, and such students, generally speaking, will lose spirit and drop out early in their training. Moreover, it is possible for a student, because of physical weakness, to train so conscientiously that he overexerts himself to the point of injuring himself or becoming ill, his body not being able to keep pace with his will, and early failures of this sort are encountered as well. For these reasons, many people, being physically weak, have had to give up hope of training in the martial arts, even though such training and its developments of bravery and a solid, firm body could be of special importance to the constitutionally or spiritually weak individual. It is, therefore, important in this context as well that karate can be practiced by the young and old, men and women alike. That is, since there is no need for a special training place, equipment or an opponent, a flexibility in training is provided such that the physically and spiritually weak individual can develop his body and mind as gradually and naturally that he himself may not even realize his own great progress.

This flexibility of training also makes possible great strides in spiritual training. For if training in any martial art is discontinued after half a year or a year it can hardly be expected to lead to any degree of spiritual training. An insight into this art, a mastery of its techniques, a polishing of the virtues of courage, courtesy, integrity, humility, and self-control to make them the inner light to guide one's daily actions: these require at the least ten or twenty years, if possible a lifetime of devotion to the study of this art. In view of its adaptability to continued training, I consider karate to be the most suitable of the many martial arts in leading to fulfillment of the need for training of the spirit."

To make the body strong, keep it safe, and polish the virtues of the spirit. These are the principle benefits of training in the Way recognized by Master Funakoshi.

Drills -

Beginner: Focus on your athletic training. Practice pushups, crunches, swimmers, grippers, lunges, and squats. Get stronger and more fit. Remake your body.

Intermediate: Focus on your self-defense training. Practice grabs, gouges, claws, low line kicks. sweeps, and scenario training. Get more capable and more confident. Be responsible for your security.

Advanced: Focus on your spiritual training. Practice meditation, trance, breathing, focus, mushin, and state management. Learn to control your energy and direct it according to your will. Discipline your mind.

Water, Water Everywhere

I found this information on the Internet and wanted to share it. I hope it can help!


Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. Although most of us take it for granted, water may be the only true "magic potion" for permanent weight loss!

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here's why: The kidneys can't function properly without enough water. When the kidneys don't work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver. One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. If the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it can't operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body, and weight loss stops.

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. When the body gets less water, it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored in extra cellular spaces (outside the cells). This shows up as swollen feet, legs and hands. Diuretics offer a temporary solution at best. They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. Thus, the condition quickly returns.

The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give the body what it needs. PLENTY OF WATER. Only then will the stored water be released.

If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt may be to blame. Your body will tolerate sodium only in a certain concentration. The more salt you eat, the more water your system retains to dilute it. But getting rid of un-needed salt is easy - just drink more water. As it's forced through the kidneys, it takes away excess sodium.

What's more, the overweight person needs more water than the thin one! Larger people have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the overweight person needs more water.

Water helps maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss - shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy, and resilient.

Water also helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of - all the metabolized fat must be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste. It can even help relieve constipation. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. The colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. But, when a person gets enough water, normal bowel functions returns.

Basically, the body will not function properly without enough water and can't metabolize stored fat efficiently. Drinking water is essential to weight loss. But how much water is enough??

On the average, a person should drink eight 8-ounce glasses every day. That's about 2 quarts. However, the overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight. The amount you drink also should be increased if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry. When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, its fluids are perfectly balanced. Once this happens you have reached the "breakthrough point". What does this mean?

• Endocrine-gland function improves.
• Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost.
• More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat.
• Natural thirst returns.
• There is loss of hunger almost overnight.

If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown out of balance again, and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. To remedy the situation you have to increase your water intake again.

20 Tips For Getting Your 8 Glasses of Water Daily

Sometimes drinking our eight glasses of water a day can be a real challenge Here are 20 tips to help you accomplish that feat! It is said by many beauty experts that drinking your water is the cheapest, quickest way to look better! That should motivate us!

1. Make a bet with a co-worker to see who can drink more water in the course of a day.

2. Have a big glass of water at every transitional point of the day: when you first get up, just before leaving the house, when you sit down to work, etc.

3. Make it convenient - keep a big, plastic, insulated water bottle full on your desk and reach for it all day.

4. When you have juice (apple, grape, or orange) fill half the glass with water.

5. When you have a junk-food craving, down a glass of water immediately. You feel full quickly and avoid the calories, and it lets time pass till the craving fades.

6. Have one glass every hour on the hour while at work. When the work day is done your water quota is met.

7. Substitute a cup of hot water with a drop of honey for tea or coffee.

8. While at work, get a 20 ounce cup of ice and keep filling it up from the office water cooler. The key is drinking with a straw - you take bigger gulps and drink much more.

9. Freeze little bits of peeled lemons, limes, and oranges and use them in place of ice cubes - it's refreshing and helps get in a serving or two of fruit.

10. After each trip to the restroom, guzzle an eight-ounce glass to replenish your system.

11. Don't allow yourself a diet soda until you've had two to four glasses of water. You will find that you won't want the soda anymore or that just half a can is enough.

12. Let ounces of water double grams of fat: When eating something containing 10 grams of fat, I drink 20 ounces of water.

13. Drink two full glasses at each meal, one before and one after. Also, drink one glass before each snack so you don't eat as much.

14. Carry a small refillable water bottle at all times and drink during downtime; while waiting in a bank line, sitting on the train, etc.

15. Use a beautiful gold-rimmed glass and fill it with cold water from the tap.

16. Drink two glasses of water immediately after waking up.

17. Bring a two-liter bottle of water to work and try to drink it all before you leave work. If you don't finish, drink it in traffic on the way home - it's like a race.

18. Always keep a 24-ounce bottle of water handy while watching TV, doing laundry, making dinner, etc.

19. Add drinking two glasses of water to your daily skincare regimen. Drink, cleanse, moisturize, etc., then drink again.

20. Drink your water out of a big Pyrex measuring cup - it's a good way to keep track of how much water you are drinking.

Life Lessons from a Samurai

Kaibara Ekiken was over eighty years old when he wrote Yōjōkun. A doctor, philosopher, teacher, samurai, and scientist, Ekiken was responsible in many ways for introducing the concept of rational empiricism to feudal Japan. Much of the medicine he taught and practiced throughout the late seventeenth century is still being practiced today.

Yōjōkun was his final written work. When he was thirty-eight he married the daughter of a local samurai administrator. By all accounts Esaki Token was a match for the artistic and philosophical Ekiken. Schooled in music, calligraphy, and poetry already, she also knew enough of history and philosophy to keep him on his toes. She often accompanied him on his travels and is even suspected of having written one of his books herself, publishing it under his name to give the work a wider readership. When she passed away at the age of sixty-two, he finished his work on Yōjōkun, and passed away himself the following year.

Yōjōkun contains the collected wisdom of a man who spent more than sixty years treating the sick. Unlike other classic samurai works of the era which taught the warrior how to die with honor, Yōjōkun is a set of instructions on how to live. Kaibara Ekiken believed that living long and well was the truest way to show gratitude to our ancestors for gifting us with life, and the modern reader will instantly see the wisdom of his teachings.

The Way of Nurturing Life
Verse 27

"Different people have different vocations. They polish a vocation and add technique to their Way. For all vocations there are techniques in which you should become well versed. If you do not master the techniques, you will be unable to perform the tasks at hand. Even among the most trivial and humble accomplishments, if you do not have a command of the techniques, you will be incapable of the task. For example, making straw raincoats and papering umbrellas are extremely easy and humble vocations, but even there, if you do not study the techniques, you will be unable to do the job.

How much more so, then, for the Way of Nurturing Life in the human body of man, which is said to be one of the Three Powers, along with Heaven and Earth? In short, if you are intent on taking care of yourself and living a long life, you must learn the appropriate techniques.

The common practice for learning a technique, even for some trivial art, is to seek out a teacher without fail, receive the teacher's instructions, and learn the proper techniques. Even the extremely talented will learn nothing if they do not have access to the techniques, a teacher, and instruction.

The techniques for nurturing your health are a full-fledged Great Way, not some small art. If you do not study the techniques with resolution, you will not master the way. If you are able to study under a person who knows the techniques, do not trade that opportunity for a thousand pieces of gold.

When I look back on my youth in my hometown, there were many people who did not know the Way of Nurturing Life. They led dissipated and therefore short lives. Moreover, many of the old folks in my village, not knowing the Way, were often sick and in distress. Their health declined and they became doting old fools early on. In such cases, even if they lived to a hundred, their lives were without pleasure and full of aches and pains. A long life ill conceived is of no use. You may think that simply living long is a good thing, but longevity alone is not something for which you should be congratulated."

Seek out the Way of Nurturing Life. Learn its techniques and study them with resolution. Live a long and health life, filled with pleasure. That is how we can best show our gratitude.

New Research Shows Meditation May Have Possible Long Term Benefits

From CNN’s Dan Gilgoff:

Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior,  just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with exercise?

Richard Davidson, who for decades has practiced Buddhist-style meditation – a form of mental exercise, he says – insists that we can.

And Davidson, who has been meditating since visiting India as a Harvard grad student in the 1970s, has credibility on the subject beyond his own experience.

A trained psychologist based at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he has become the leader of a relatively new field called contemplative neuroscience — the brain science of meditation.

Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation — the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects — permanently changes the brain for the better.

“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans.

“Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”

Contemplative neuroscientists say that making a habit of meditation can strengthen brain circuits responsible for maintaining concentration and generating empathy.

One recent study by Davidson’s team found that novice meditators stimulated their limbic systems — the brain’s emotional network — during the practice of compassion meditation, an ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice.

That’s no great surprise, given that compassion meditation aims to produce a specific emotional state of intense empathy, sometimes call “lovingkindness.”

But the study also found that expert meditators — monks with more than 10,000 hours of practice — showed significantly greater activation of their limbic systems. The monks appeared to have permanently changed their brains to be more empathetic.

An earlier study by some of the same researchers found that committed meditators experienced sustained changes in baseline brain function, meaning that they had changed the way their brains operated even outside of meditation.

These changes included ramped-up activation of a brain region thought to be responsible for generating positive emotions, called the left-sided anterior region. The researchers found this change in novice meditators who’d enrolled in a course in mindfulness meditation — a technique that borrows heavily from Buddhism — that lasted just eight weeks.

But most brain research around meditation is still preliminary, waiting to be corroborated by other scientists. Meditation’s psychological benefits and its use in treatments for conditions as diverse as depression and chronic pain are more widely acknowledged.

Serious brain science around meditation has emerged only in about the last decade, since the birth of functional MRI allowed scientists to begin watching the brain and monitoring its changes in relatively real time.

Beginning in the late 1990s, a University of Pennsylvania-based researcher named Andrew Newberg said that his brain scans of experienced meditators showed the prefrontal cortex — the area of the brain that houses attention — surging into overdrive during meditation while the brain region governing our orientation in time and space, called the superior parietal lobe, went dark. (One of his scans is pictured, above.)

Newberg said his findings explained why meditators are able to cultivate intense concentration while also describing feelings of transcendence during meditation.

But some scientists said Newberg was over-interpreting his brain scans. Others said he failed to specify the kind of meditation he was studying, making his studies impossible to reproduce. His popular books, like Why God Won’t Go Away, caused more eye-rolling among neuroscientists, who said he hyped his findings to goose sales.

“It caused mainstream scientists to say that the only work that has been done in the field is of terrible quality,” says Alasdair Coles, a lecturer in neurology at England’s University of Cambridge.

Newberg, now at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital in Philadelphia, stands by his research.

And contemplative neuroscience had gained more credibility in the scientific community since his early scans.

One sign of that is increased funding from the National Institutes of Health, which has helped establish new contemplative science research centers at Stanford University, Emory University, and the University of Wisconsin, where the world’s first brain imaging lab with a meditation room next door is now under construction.

The NIH could not provide numbers on how much it gives specifically to meditation brain research but its grants in complementary and alternative medicine — which encompass many meditation studies — have risen from around $300 million in 2007 to an estimated $541 million in 2011.

“The original investigations by people like Davidson in the 1990s were seen as intriguing, but it took some time to be convinced that brain processes were really changing during meditation,” says Josephine Briggs, Director of the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Most studies so far have examined so-called focused-attention meditation, in which the practitioner concentrates on a particular subject, such as the breath. The meditator monitors the quality of attention and, when it drifts, returns attention to the object.

Over time, practitioners are supposed to find it easier to sustain attention during and outside of meditation.

In a 2007 study, Davidson compared the attentional abilities of novice meditators to experts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Participants in both groups were asked to practice focused-attention meditation on a fixed dot on a screen while researchers ran fMRI scans of their brains.

To challenge the participants’ attentional abilities, the scientists interrupted the meditations with distracting sounds.

The brain scans found that both experienced and novice meditators activated a network of attention-related regions of the brain during meditation. But the experienced meditators showed more activation in some of those regions.

The inexperienced meditators, meanwhile, showed increased activation in brain regions that have been shown to negatively correlate with sustaining attention. Experienced meditators were better able to activate their attentional networks to maintain concentration on the dot. They had, the study suggested, changed their brains.

The fMRI scans also showed that experienced meditators had less neural response to the distracting noises that interrupted the meditation.

In fact, the more hours of experience a meditator had, the scans found, the less active his or her emotional networks were during the distracting sounds, which meant the easier it was to focus.

More recently, contemplative neuroscience has turned toward compassion meditation, which involves generating empathy through objectless awareness; practitioners call it non-referential compassion meditation.

New neuroscientific interest in the practice comes largely at the urging of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and politial leader of Tibetan Buddhists, for whom compassion meditation is a time-worn tradition.

The Dalai Lama has arranged for Tibetan monks to travel to American universities for brain scans and has spoken at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest gathering of brain scientists.

A religious leader, the Dalai Lama has said he supports contemplative neuroscience even though scientists are stripping meditation of its Buddhist roots, treating it purely as a mental exercise that more or less anyone can do.

“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”

Still, the nascent field faces challenges. Scientists have scanned just a few hundred brains on meditation do date, which makes for a pretty small research sample. And some scientists say researchers are over eager to use brain science to prove the that meditation “works.”

“This is a field that has been populated by true believers,” says Emory University scientist Charles Raison, who has studied meditation’s effect on the immune system. “Many of the people doing this research are trying to prove scientifically what they already know from experience, which is a major flaw.”

But Davidson says that other types of scientists also have deep personal interest in what they’re studying. And he argues that that’s a good thing.

“There’s a cadre of grad students and post docs who’ve found personal value in meditation and have been inspired to study it scientifically,” Davidson says. “These are people at the very best universities and they want to do this for a career.

“In ten years,” he says, “we’ll find that meditation research has become mainstream.”

From CNN.com

Stretching the Truth

Everyone knows that it's important to stretch before you work out, right?

Wrong. It can actually be detrimental to your performance, and even result in injury.

Ok. That's not the whole truth either. The reality is that stretching is a general term which encompasses three major types of stretching approaches, static, dynamic, and ballistic. And it's important to know which to do, and when, in order to avoid injury and improve performance.

Let's start with a brief description of each type.

Static stretching is used to stretch muscles while the body is at rest. It is composed of various techniques that gradually lengthen a muscle to an elongated position and hold that position for 30 seconds to two minutes. Static stretching exercises involve specialized tension receptors in our muscles. When done properly, static stretching slightly lessens the sensitivity of tension receptors, which allows the muscle to relax and to be stretched to greater length.

Dynamic stretching is a form of stretching beneficial in sports utilizing momentum from form, static-active stretching strength and the momentum from static-active stretching strength, in an effort to propel the muscle into an extended range of motion not exceeding one's static-passive stretching ability. It is a type of stretching while moving. It increases range of movement, and blood and oxygen flow to soft tissues prior to exertion.

Ballistic stretching is a form of static stretching or dynamic stretching in a bouncing motion. Ballistic stretches force the limb into an extended range of motion when the muscle has not relaxed enough to enter it. It involves fast "bouncing" movements where a double bounce is performed at the end range of movement. Ballistic stretching has been found to be hazardous towards the body. It can injure vital muscles and nerves with the sharp jerking movements. It is even possible for tissue to be ripped off the bone.

Each of these types of stretching have a purpose, and a time in your training when they are most effective.

Dynamic stretching increases blood flow and releases tension, and should be done immediately prior to your workout during the "warm up" phase in order to prepare the body and help prevent injury. Static stretching increases long term flexibility and range of motion, and should be done immediately after your workouts as part of your "cool down," when the muscles are still warm and pliable. Ballistic stretching can increase long term range of motion but should never be done, ever, due to the high risk of serious injury it carries.

This is why we start each class with arm circles, leg raises, and shoulder rolls. The key to these exercises is not to "throw" your limbs into the stretch, but to consciously and deliberately move your body through the positions. Then, after each class, spend just a few minutes working on the flexibility in your hips, shoulders, and back. The long term health benefits are well worth the two or three minutes you'll spend reaching for your toes.

Remember, never bounce. Never "throw" your body. If it hurts, stop immediately. Discomfort is good, pain is bad. Listen to your body and never compare your flexibility or range of motion to someone else's. Only focus on what YOU can do to get better.

Proper stretching is an important part of every exercise routine. With the right care and maintenance your body will perform better, longer.

Drills -
Beginner: Listen to your body when you're stretching. Find the points of tension and focus on relaxing those muscles.

Intermediate: Use your forms and stance work as a time to explore your full range of motion. Exaggerate your movements and experience your poses.

Advanced: Practice locks slowly and carefully with a partner. Ask them to gradually increase the pressure until you tap, then try to relax into the lock to test your pain tolerance and full range. An extra half second may save your life. Never practice knee locks like this, as the knees are easily injured even before they are fully locked. Always tap!

Great Smoothie Recipes for the Health Conscious

Shouldn't that be all of us? Anyway, here are some great recipes to make delicious, healthy smoothies. They're a great way to start your day!


Banana - OJ Shake
1 Banana
1 scoop Protein powder
1 cup ice
1 cup OJ
1 tsp Stevia Powder
=====
309 Cals, 56g Carbs, 2.3g Fat, 22g Protein


Strawbery - Banana Shake
1 Banana
5 small Strawberries
1 scoop Protein powder
1 cup ice
1 cup OJ
1 tsp Stevia Powder
=====
312 Cals, 58g Carbs, 2.4g Fat, 22g Protein


Tropical Delight Shake
1 Banana
1/2 cup fresh pineapple
1/4 cup Fresh Mango
1 scoop Protein powder
1 cup ice
1 cup OJ
1 tsp Stevia Powder
4 oz Plain Yogurt
=====
356 Cals, 80g Carbs, <5g Fat, 27g Protein

For added variety, try tossing in a half cup of blueberries!


Full breakdowns on ingredients:
---------------------------------
Designer Whey Protein Powder - Natural Flavor
Calories = 90
Carbs = 2g
Fat = 1g
Protein = 19g

---------------------------------
Strawberries, fresh
Serving Size: 5 small (1" dia)
Amount Per Serving
Total Carbohydrate 2.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Calories 10.5
Total Fat 0.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 0.4 mg
Potassium 58.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 2.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 0.2 g

---------------------------------
Blueberries, fresh
Serving Size: 0.5 cup

Amount Per Serving
Total Carbohydrate 10.2 g
Dietary Fiber 2.0 g
Calories 40.6
Total Fat 0.3 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 4.4 mg
Potassium 64.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 10.2 g
Dietary Fiber 2.0 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 0.5 g

---------------------------------
Banana, fresh
Serving Size: 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)

Amount Per Serving
Total Carbohydrate 27.6 g
Dietary Fiber 2.8 g
Calories 108.6
Total Fat 0.6 g
Saturated Fat 0.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 1.2 mg
Potassium 467.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 27.6 g
Dietary Fiber 2.8 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 1.2 g

---------------------------------
Orange Juice
Serving Size: 1 cup

Amount Per Serving
Total Carbohydrate 25.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.5 g
Calories 109.6
Total Fat 0.7 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 2.5 mg
Potassium 473.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 25.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.5 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 2.0 g

---------------------------------
Mangos
Serving Size: 0.25 cup, sliced

Amount Per Serving
Total Carbohydrate 7.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.7 g
Calories 26.8
Total Fat 0.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 0.8 mg
Potassium 64.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 7.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.7 g
Sugars 6.1 g
Protein 0.2 g

---------------------------------
Yogurt, plain, low fat
Serving Size: 0.5 container (4 oz)

Amount Per Serving
Total Carbohydrate 8.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.0 g
Calories 71.2
Total Fat 1.8 g
Saturated Fat 1.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Cholesterol 6.8 mg
Sodium 79.1 mg
Potassium 264.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 8.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.0 g
Sugars 8.0 g
Protein 5.9 g

---------------------------------
Pineapple, fresh
Serving Size: 0.5 cup, diced

Amount Per Serving
Total Carbohydrate 9.6 g
Dietary Fiber 0.9 g
Calories 38.0
Total Fat 0.3 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 0.8 mg
Potassium 87.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 9.6 g
Dietary Fiber 0.9 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 0.3 g


You only get one body. The battles we face every day in the arena of health and fitness are far more likely to kill us in the end than a mugger's knife or an assassin's bullet.

"No one dies from old age alone, but rather...worry, tension, and the will to die...these are the killers."