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Question: Are you supposed to rinse raw chicken before cooking it?


Answer: No — in fact, it’s not a good idea at all.
 
The United States Department of Agriculture advises against the practice of rinsing poultry or meat before cooking it. The problem is that when you rinse raw chicken, you’re allowing the bacteria that is present on the surface of the poultry to spread to everything else that’s nearby — including sink and counter surfaces, kitchen utensils and any other foods that might be within spattering range of the rinsing water.
And as the USDA also points out, any bacteria present on the chicken’s surface will be destroyed if you cook the poultry properly and thoroughly.
 
www.stilltasty.com

Is it Safe to Refreeze Thawed Meat ?
www.stilltasty.com

Question: I thawed some frozen steaks for dinner tonight, but now I’ve had a change in plans and don’t have time to cook them. Is it okay if I refreeze them?


Answer: It’s fine to refreeze the steaks — as long as you thawed them in the refrigerator.
 
If that was the case, you can put them right back into the freezer (see here for detailed advice on how to freeze them). When you eventually thaw the steaks a second time, you may notice a decrease in quality, but they’ll certainly be safe to eat, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
 
If, on the other hand, you thawed the steaks in the microwave or in cold water, the USDA advises that you should cook them immediately before freezing. That’s because with either method, the steaks could have at least temporarily warmed up to a temperature higher than 40°F. At that point, harmful bacteria can begin to multiply and only further cooking will destroy it; simply refreezing the steaks won’t do the trick.
Finally, if you thawed the steaks on the counter or in hot water, you shouldn’t eat them at all. The USDA cautions that it’s dangerous to eat any meat or poultry that’s been thawed under those two methods, as the outer layer of the food would have been allowed to sit between the bacteria-breeding temperatures of 40° F and 140° F for far too long to be safe.

Pete’s Tip of the Day:
 
EMG (electromyography) shows that biceps respond better to compound movements, while triceps respond better to isolation movements.

Question: “Can You Stop Bananas From Spoiling Too Soon?”
 
Answer:
 
Yes — once the bananas have reached the ripeness you like, stash them in the fridge.The cooler temperature of the refrigerator will slow down the spoilage process and keep the bananas tasty for about five more days. Refrigeration may turn the banana skins dark, but as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points out, that won’t change the inside of the fruit itself.Just be sure to wait until the bananas have reached your desired ripeness before placing them in the fridge. If you refrigerate under-ripe bananas, their flavor and texture won’t develop properly.
www.stilltasty.com

Questions: I Forgot to Refrigerate Food — Will Reheating Make it Safe?
 
Answer: According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reheating your food might indeed kill the bacteria that were likely produced when it sat out overnight.
But your problem doesn’t stop there, says the FDA. Some types of bacteria also produce heat-resistant spores or toxins that can cause food poisoning. And these spores and toxins are often not destroyed by normal cooking or reheating.
 
Two such examples cited by the FDA: Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. Both can be caused by leaving cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours and reheating the food is not at all guaranteed to get rid of them.
 
Bottom line: You should not eat food left out. You’re not certain to get sick if you do, but you’ll nonetheless be giving yourself a very good shot at contracting a serious foodborne illness.
www.stilltasty.com

Question: Can You Freeze Raw Eggs for Later Use?


Answer: Yes, you can successfully freeze raw eggs for later use. As the American Egg Board notes, fresh eggs will generally freeze well for up to a year. For best results, you’ll need to do a little prep work before freezing whole eggs. 
 
First, always remove them from their shells — when a raw egg freezes, its contents could expand and cause the shell to break.
 
 Once you’ve cracked open the eggs, pierce the yolks, mix them to blend with the whites, and then add in either of the following:
(1) one-half teaspoon of salt for every cup of raw eggs, if you’re planning to use the eggs for savory or main dishes; or (2) one tablespoon of sugar for each cup of eggs, if you’ll be using them for baking or desserts. The salt and sugar both work to prevent the eggs’ yolks from becoming too gelatinous once frozen.
 
Place the egg mixture in covered airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags and they’ll be ready for your freezer.
www.stilltasty.com

The human body is a finely-tuned machine that will only allow for a certain amount of asymmetry. Therefore, if you devote your training energies solely to building big arms, you’d eventually reach a point of total stagnation because you weren’t training your legs.
In other words, no wheels, no wings! Furthermore, if ar…ms grew without some sort of concurrent development in the legs, most bodybuilders would have to walk on their hands.

“Charles Poliquin”

Fitness Expert Pete’s Tip of the Day:
Improving grip strength can lead to increases in many exercises such as deadlifts, bicep curls and bench presses. Try Fatgripz, EZ-Grips, or just wrap your towel around the bar to increase the width and increase your grip strength

Question: Can You Safely Drink Milk After the Sell-By Date?

Answer: Yes, milk that has been properly stored will generally remain drinkable for about one week after the “sell-by” date on the package.
 
That’s the general case, mind you — as the Dairy Council of California points out, several factors will influence what happens in your particular fridge once the milk’s sell-by date has passed.
 
Keeping your milk continuously refrigerated and sealing the container well after each use will go a long way toward keeping your milk fresh.  So too will making sure that the temperature of your refrigerator remains at or below 40° Fahrenheit at all times.
 
If milk develops an off odor, flavor or appearance, you should always discard it.
 
stilltasty.com

Eating organic food is always superior to conventional food.
Strawberries raised conventionally is one of the worse foods to eat as they one of most raises crops. Just eating them organic diminishes your toxic load. As far as nutrition is concerned organic strawberries have been show to have longer shelf life, contain more anti-oxidants, phenolic compounds and vitamin C. Their water content is lower, meaning you are getting more strawberry per strawberry.
Charles Poliquin..

Quinoa beats brown rice
WHY: Quinoa has three extra grams of protein per cooked cup, plus more fiber, iron, and magnesium.
 
 
Greek yogurt beats regular yogurt
WHY: The Greek variety has about twice as much protein as traditional types.
 
 
Green tea beats coffee
WHY: It’s bursting with antioxidants (such as EGCG) that help ward off diabetes and certain cancers.
 
 
Pork tenderloin beats beef tenderloin
WHY: The pork version has less saturated fat, more B vitamins, and is cheaper.
 

Goat cheese beats feta cheese
WHY: Goat cheese has nearly half the cholesterol and a third less sodium.


Orange beats apple
WHY: They have similar amounts of calories and fiber, but oranges have 12 times as much vitamin C.


Red pepper beats green pepper
WHY: It boasts eight times the vitamin A, which keeps your immune system strong.


Flaxseed beats flaxseed oil
WHY: The seeds have lots of magnesium, potassium, selenium, and fiber
 
http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/Battle-of-the-Foods.htm?cmp=291&memberid=800-
12014&lyrisid=21038935&page=2

saw this tip from Jamie Eason today—mushrooms better than chicken soup when you’re sick?

If you are sick and its viral, eating mushrooms might be a better option than chicken soup because mushrooms are packed with beta-glucan, lentinan and other compounds that improve white blood cell function.

make the most of those cranberries throughout the holiday season…see tips below from eatingwell.com…

Storage Tips for Cranberries

A nonreactive pan (stainless steel, enamel-coated or glass) is necessary when cooking acidic foods like cranberries to prevent the food from reacting with the pan. Reactive pans, such as aluminum and cast-iron, can impart an off color and/or off flavor in acidic foods.

To make quick work of chopping cranberries, place whole berries in a food processor and pulse a few times until the berries are coarsely chopped.

Cranberries freeze well and can be kept in your freezer in an airtight container, or the bag you bought them in, for months.

Judge Cholesterol with Contact Lenses (Men’s Health Magazine)

A diet full of fat, protein, or alcohol weakens your tears’ ability to block cholesterol from adhering to the lenses. This results in cloudy deposits. If your diet is destroying your contacts, just imagine what it’s doing to your arteries.

Here are three tips that will keep you honest and making progress :
 
by Charles Poliquin
 
1. You should look at ways that will an exercise harder, not easier.
For example pausing the bar on the floor between reps on the deadlifts creates more overload on the neuro-muscular system than bouncing the plates off the floor. Successful bodybuilders feel the muscle not the weight!
 
2. Never sacrifice style for increased poundages.
I know people who increase their bench presses by 60 lbs in one month!. They simply do it by adjusting by changing their form: lifting hips off the bench + 25 lbs, bouncing in the bottom position + 10 lbs, increasing width of grip +10 lbs, not coming up to lock-out + 15 lbs. This is one of the reasons I recommend to change the exercise every 6 workouts or so. When you are just about to hit a plateau, it is time to move on to another exercise.
 
3. Lower weights slower than you lift them.
When weight training, you control the weight, the weight does not control you. Even though you are stronger in eccentric contractions than in concentric contractions, you recruit only half the fibers when lowering a load, so the actual tension on the recruited is double. So maximize the overload on the eccentric portion of every rep, your gains will accelerate.

Rhodiola Rosea is the best adaptogen for shift workers.
 
In the traditional medical practices of these countries, rhodiola is popularly used to stimulate the nervous system, decrease depression, enhance work performance, and eliminate fatigue. It is one of the main active ingredients in Yin Builder.
 
charles Poliquin

To naturally raise your testosterone levels, make sure you perform large muscle group exercises (squats, deadlifts, power cleans, etc.) at the beginning of your workout, and use short rest intervals of less than a minute. Circuit training or supersets may be a good choice depending on your goals. Heavy resistance above 85 percent of your 1RM is also recommended with a moderate to high volume of exercise. “charles poliquin”

Fit Tip: A Healthier Cut in the Kitchen. Next time you’re in the market for knives, choose ceramic over steel. Reason: ceramics do not transfer any flavors between ingredients and won’t trap dirt or bacteria onto the blade, which makes them a healthier choice.

Source:  MensHealth.com

Q:  If i sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair at my office, will I lose weight?

A:  Sitting on a ball might help strengthen your core, but it won’t help you shed significant calories. The misconception comes, in part, from studies on nonexercise activity. Fidgeting, a common example, is often cited as a way to help burn extra calories. Mayo Clinic researchers found a significant increase in energy expenditure if you fidget while standing. But that effect is not as pronounced if you fidget while seated. So any difference between ball sitting and chair sitting is probably too small to have a real impact. So save the ball for the gym. Work is stressful enough without the extra task of balancing your way through it for minimal returns.

 
GREAT TIPS!!
 
“Here are a few of many calorie-cutting food swaps, very familiar to fitness models, that will limit unnecessary caloric consumption:
 
-Fresh Steamed Spinach Leaves, Zucchini or Spaghetti Squash instead of Pasta
 
-Canned Crushed Tomatoes with Basil instead of the sugar-loaded Marinara Sauce found in a jar
 
-Flavored Vinegars mixed with Dijon Mustard and Lemon instead of High-Fat Salad Dressings
 
-Rice Cakes instead of Bread
 
-Baked Tilapia instead of Salmon
 
-Stevia, Cinnamon and Vanilla extract instead of Sugar
 
-No sugar added Almond Milk instead of Soy or Rice Milk
 
-Olive Oil spray in place of heaping tablespoons of Olive Oil dumped in pans
 
-Baked Butternut Squash instead of Potatoes
 
-Zero Fat, No-Sugar added Greek Yogurt in place of Sour Cream,
 
-Cheese, Heavy Cream or Buttermilk
 
-All Natural Salsa instead of Guacamole
 
-Gluten Free Soy Sauce or Chicken Broth instead of Olive Oil
 
-Low Carb, sugar-free Protein Powder Recipes instead of High Calorie Desserts
 
When choosing foods in order to successfully lower your overall caloric intake, always remember these simple stats:
1 gram of protein= 4 calories
1 gram of carbohydrates= 4 calories
1 gram of fat=9 calories
by, Lisa Robins
 

Lighten up your Coffee Shop Order (Shape.com)

Order your drink with half the flavor and skim milk. Whether it’s a vanilla latte or another flavored coffee shop drink, have the barista make it with half of the flavor and skim milk. This alone can save you quite a few calories and still give you the flavor your craving.

Tip by charles poliquin
 
 
Use short sprint intervals with very brief rest periods to get conditioned and trigger a potent anabolic response. With as little as five minutes of pain you’ll get a significant gain by adding sprints to your training program, whether you’re getting ready for peak performance in fall sports or simply want to improve conditioning and be more anabolic. New research on Iranian wrestlers in the preseason found that short sprints with very brief recovery improves both aerobic and anaerobic performance, while raising testosterone levels

Mens Health Tip:  Autumn skin tip: A heated office can dry out your face, but fatty fish like salmon hydrates your skin from the inside.

Mens Health Q&A:

Q: My back kills me at my desk. What can I do?

-Vance, Shaker Heights, OH

A:  Recline your chair. Canadian researchers found that leaning back at 135 degrees (halfway between upright and lying flat) relieves back strain. Using body scans, scientists found that sitting upright caused the most strain. Leaning back aligns your vertebrae more comfortably.

Taking a walk once an hour for 3 to 5 minutes will relieve the strain on your butt and hips, says Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S. This is where back pain often originates. You can target those areas directly with the following moves.

1. HIP FLEXOR Kneel on your right knee, tighten your right buttock, reach up with your right arm, and bend to the left. Do this to each side at least once for 20 seconds. “This counteracts the position of sitting, because it’s the opposite activity—instead of having your hip bent, it’s extended,” Hartman says.
 
2. GLUTE BRIDGE Lie on your back with knees bent, squeeze your buttocks together, and lift your hips off the floor. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat 12 times. “By contracting the buttocks, you’re stretching the front side of the hip,” Hartman says.

thanks for sharing!! i find it challenging to sit at a desk all day.. i am nervous it will effect my posture and back

Tip of the day!! Stay young forever with exercise and vitamin D!!
 
Perform a strength training program and take vitamin D—at least 1,000 mg/day—to stay strong and slow the aging process. Two new studies show that resistance training and having adequate levels of vitamin D will help you minimize the effects of aging. As you get older, strength training minimizes or negates fat gain, counters age-related muscle loss, improves glucose tolerance, and keeps your blood pressure at a low level. Optimal vitamin D also supports muscle strength, and particularly the synthesis of type 2 muscle fibers, which can have a major effect in decreasing the risk of falling and fracturing a bone as you age.
(charles poliquin)

Another Tip
 
Supplement with a probiotic to protect your liver from damage when you have to take pain killers, antibiotics, or are drinking alcohol. Be sure to take probiotics all the time because they provide numerous other health benefits as well including supporting optimal brain function, preventing fat gain, and lowering chronic inflammation. Plus, pain killers and antiobiotics are often necessary when you least expect it, meaning you need to have been taking the probiotic for at least a few days to really benefit.
Charles POliquin….

Tip of the day: -
 
 While fats and proteins are chemically unaltered by chewing, the enzyme alpha-amylase in your saliva begins to break down carbohydrates on contact to begin the digestion process. Make sure you chew your carbohydrate sources extra well! (Pete Bauman

Tip of the day:
 
Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS) seem to be caused by the eccentric portions of lifts. If you are experiencing heavy soreness from your workouts, try to limit the amount of eccentric movements (the “lowering” or “negative” portion). By Pete Bauman

Tip of the day:
 
New research has emerged showing that there is no effective “loading phase” for creatine. If your creatine supplement suggests a high dosage loading phase for the first week or two, it isn’t up to date…. By Pete Bauman