Christmas is here, and with over 400 retail stores selling ELEV8 Me! in Canada and healthy online purchasing from our U.S. customers, we decided it was time to roll out a delicious addition to the ELEV8 family. Introducing "Banana Nut Bread", made with organic sliced whole bananas, 27% protein, apples, raisins, dates and almonds. Subtly delicious and definitely not too sweet. CLICK HERE for more info...http://www.prosnack.com/store2.htm

In Good Health, Earl and Trish, devoted ELEV8 Makers.

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10 Ways to Keep Your Fitness Plan on Track During the Holidays (ARA)

The average North American does a little too much celebrating at this time of year. Between Thanksgiving and the New Year, most of us will gain seven pounds as a result of indulging in extra helpings, snacking on holiday treats, having an extra glass of wine and exercising less.

Here are 10 great tips for staying fit and eating well over the holidays.
1) Drink lots of water throughout the day. It suppresses the appetite and is something everyone should do year round.
2) Snack on fruits, vegetables and high-fiber foods whenever possible. Dried fruits are healthy and a good alternative to many sweet snacks such as cookies and candy.
3) Limit alcohol consumption. Remember that alcohol contains almost as many calories per gram as fat. Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or club soda while you're at a party.
4) Enjoy the outdoors as much as possible: bundle up and take the dog for a walk, and try skating or sledding; squeeze 10-minute walks into your schedule. Any extra activity helps.
5) Health and fitness centers offer a combination of cardio and resistance-training opportunities, as well as group fitness classes and personal training, that are essential to maintaining a healthy way of life. If you’re thinking about joining a fitness center, fall is a great time to sign up.
6) Acknowledge that you're probably going to miss some workouts during this time and plan now to work around it. Schedule different times or substitute another activity, even if it's at home.
7) Eat a nutritious meal or snack before you attend events or parties where there is a lot of food, or use a small plate to avoid overindulging. Another good tip is to leave at a reasonable hour. In addition to helping you get enough sleep during this hectic time of year, you'll also be removing yourself from the temptation to continue eating unnecessary calories.
8) Nutritional supplements should be considered. 9 out of 10 adults do not get the essential daily vitamins and nutrients from the food they eat.
9) Enlist the help of a family member or friend to help keep you on track with healthy habits during the holidays. Choose someone who can provide not only encouragement, but a good example as well.
10) Remember that balance, variety and moderation apply to holiday celebrations as well as to most other things in life, so don't be too hard on yourself if you slip up. Keep your good intentions, spend time with family and friends and enjoy the holidays.
Courtesy of ARA Content

Your Teeth are Fine but What About Your Gums? (ARA) - When you were a child, you probably remember someone telling you all about the importance of brushing your teeth after every meal.

Now that you’re older, the issues surrounding your oral health aren’t as clear cut. While tooth decay could still be a problem, adults have the added concerns of gum disease, which often isn’t accompanied by noticeable pain or discomfort as is a lost filling or even a cavity. “We call periodontal disease “the silent disease” because most times you don’t even know you have it,” said Lou Graham, DDS section chief of the Zoller Dental Clinic at the University of Chicago. “If people don’t have a toothache, they don’t think there’s anything wrong and they often won’t seek treatment. Unfortunately, this often results in patients requiring more invasive treatments when, if they had been diagnosed earlier, they could have been treated much easier with superior outcomes.” According to the American Dental Association, 50 million American have some form of gum disease, ranging from mild and highly reversible gingivitis to the chronic and more severe periodontitis, which has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and pre-term low birth weight.

The first line of defense in combating periodontitis is a deep cleaning of the teeth and gums called scaling and planing. While this might require multiple visits (each case is different) recent studies have shown that the scaling becomes more effective when it is combined with the use of localized antimicrobials, a treatment that is applied directly and painlessly to the gums following a scaling and root planing. “Even when a patient comes in for a routine checkup, if an early problem is found we simply clean the area and place a small amount of the localized antibiotic into the pocket to eradicate the remaining bacteria, it’s so simple and the patients couldn’t be happier because it’s quick and painless,”Courtesy of ARA Content

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ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) -- No matter what diet you are on, if you eat less and lose weight you also lower your risk of heart disease, doctors reported at an annual heart meeting.

Weight Watchers, the high-fat Atkins diet, the extremely low-fat Ornish diet and the high-protein, moderate carbohydrate Zone diet all help people lose weight and all reduce cholesterol, but in different ways, the researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association this week. "On average, participants in the study reduced their heart disease risk by 5 percent to 15 percent," said Dr. Michael Dansinger of Tufts University in Boston. "Instead of saying there is one clear winner here, we are saying they are all winners."

And, as might be expected, the closer dieters followed the plans, the more weight they lost. Those who stuck it out for a full year lost, on average, 5 percent of their body weight -- or about 10 to 12 pounds. While the dieters reduced heart disease "risk factors" such as cholesterol levels, overall blood pressure did not drop much and the study did not last long enough to see if this translated into a lower long-term risk of heart disease.

Instead, the researchers used statistics that show lowering cholesterol by a certain amount, for instance, reduces the risk of heart disease overall. Dr. Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado, who heads the Heart Association's nutrition committee, said the message is clear -- lose weight however you can to reduce your risk of heart disease. "I think weight reduction trumps a lot of other stuff," Eckel said.

Losing weight
For the study Dansinger and colleagues chose 160 overweight people and randomly assigned 40 to each of four different diets. They weighed an average 220 pounds and needed to lose between 30 and 80 pounds. All agreed to follow the diets to the best of their ability for two months, although none were enrolled in the full programs that Weight Watchers and Dr. Dean Ornish advocate. They include exercise, group meetings and food diaries for Weight Watchers and stress reduction for the Ornish diet. After two months, 22 percent of the dieters had given up. After a year, 35 percent dropped out of Weight Watchers and the Zone diets and 50 percent had quit the Atkins and Ornish plans. Dansinger and other researchers said the study suggested there is no one-size-fits-all diet best for everyone. "The type of person who is going to go for a low-fat, vegetarian diet is not, in my experience, the kind of person who is going to go for a high-meat diet," Dansinger said.

Cholesterol levels
But for people with high cholesterol levels, the Ornish diet might be the most beneficial, Dansinger said. "The Ornish diet, low-fat vegetarian, was best for lowering the bad LDL cholesterol, while other diets were better at raising the good HDL cholesterol," Dansinger said. Low density lipoprotein cholesterol is the stuff that clogs arteries, while high density lipoprotein carries fat out of the blood. "Atkins reduced LDL 8.6 percent, Zone 6.7 percent, Weight Watchers 7.7 percent and Ornish 16.7 percent," Dansinger said in a statement afterwards. He said the Atkins and Zone diets diet raised HDL by about 15 percent, Weight Watchers by 18.5 percent, and Ornish by 2.2 percent. Ornish said doctors often place too high a value on high HDL levels. "If you reduce fat, there is less garbage, less saturated fat and cholesterol, so your body needs less garbage trucks," he said. But Dansinger said his study was one of several that has suggested the high-fat Atkins diet, in the short-term, does not raise the risk of heart disease.

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"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference." "

- Robert Frost

Dear Flabby,
Why are your bars better than Atkins bar?

Chris T., Ft. Lauderdale

Dear Chris.

It's not for us to knock other bars, but just look at our ingredients, and especially what's NOT in there. No sucralose, No maltitol, No corn syrup, No brown rice syrup, you get the picture. Stay as close to nature as possible and you will never go wrong.

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