By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD

When most of us think of coffee, we usually think of the wonderful smelling aroma that wakes us up in the morning. For some people, this “liquid motivation” brings much joy and energy in just one cup. Coffee is so loved that it’s personified into being “My Coffee” and has helped spur several successful coffee companies across the world.

But, coffee is more than just so those amazing beans that pick us up when we’re down (or tired, that is).

As many of us know, coffee comes from a plant. But, what we may not know is that the beans are contained within berries, much like most seeds contained in pieces of fruit.

And, like most berries, the berry of coffee trees is a very nutrient-rich, powerful health-promoting food.

Except, when’s the last time you ate a Coffeeberry®? Probably not ever.

This is unfortunate, because berries from coffee plants (called Coffeeberry®), are being shown in several different scientific investigations to posses potent antioxidant properties, which can not only help prevent common chronic diseases like diabetes and heart, but also improve recovery from athletic activity and help fight inflammatory conditions such as IBS, arthritis and allergies.

So, if Coffeeberry® is so great, why can’t we buy them in stores?

Well, there are two major problems:

• First, since coffee is so popular, the fruit is stripped off when the beans are collected
• Second, if the fruit is saved, it’s highly perishable by both bacterial and fungal contamination and must be eaten right away

As such, Coffeeberry® is considered a waste product of coffee production – which is very interesting, considering that whey protein used to be a “waste” product of cheese-making; meaning that some of the best foods for our bodies have once been overlooked as garbage, until now.

Science to the Rescue!

Since it’s almost impossible to eat Coffeeberry® unless you have a coffee tree growing in your back yard (which is highly unlikely unless you live in Africa, Hawaii or Latin America), you will have to get these powerful berries in a dried form (kind of like how you get whey protein).

Scientists have discovered a way to isolate Coffeeberry® into a powdered form, which can also be concentrated so that you can consume less, but get more.

This dried product has been shown to completely safe and effective for delivering high doses of coffee antioxidants and other Coffeeberry® nutrients that promote better health.

What’s more interesting about this delivery form is that these highly potent free-radical scavenging components in Coffeeberry® can be supplied instead through of conventional coffee to people that need a limited caffeine intake, such as when pregnant, or in people who are sensitive to caffeine.

Coffeeberry® for Improved Recovery

Scientists from the Faculty of Sport and Tourism in Belgrade, investigated the effects of Coffeeberry® concentrated extract on the recovery of 20 college age athletic men and women. These participants were either given two 400 mg capsules of Coffeeberry® each day for 28 days, or a placebo.

After one month, participants taking Coffeeberry® had improved recovery from intense exercise compared to those taking a placebo. The Coffeeberry® extract increased blood levels of Total Antioxidant Capacity, while decreasing blood lactate (a common marker of muscle fatigue), and increased their Heart Rate Recovery Index.

This indicates that Coffeeberry® can be useful for people who exercise intensely and often, which allows them to exercise harder more often.

Recently, studies with 100 mg of Coffeeberry® extract given to humans also have shown promising benefits for health promotion (personal communication, April 2011). It appears that just 100 mg of Coffeeberry® is enough to see beneficial effects from this berry’s antioxidant content.

Overall, we may be missing out on the best part by drinking just coffee. Thanks to science it is possible to take advantage of the best part of this fruit.

3 More Amazing Benefits Of Coffeeberry®

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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I always recommend that you make it a priority to live a healthier, active lifestyle each day. By doing this, you will build a healthy, lean body along the way. The quick weight loss lifestyle will ultimately leave you frustrated, unhealthy and overweight.

You know that I have always stressed health before weight loss and beauty. I have constantly stressed that it does you no good to look great if your body is a total wreck and unhealthy.

Optimal health is defined by Dr. Duke Johnson, the author of the book, The Optimal Health Revolution.

Dr. Johnson defines optimal health as:

“Optimal Health is the best health you are capable of, given your past and your genetic heritage.”

Optimal health involves making lifestyle changes to improve your:

1. health
2. fitness
3. energy levels
4. quality of life

We are living longer on this earth so quality of life is important.

The “quick weight loss lifestyle” is narrow minded when you compare it to the “optimal health lifestyle.”

Quick weight loss leads to slowed metabolism, a weaker immune system, hormonal imbalances, loss of lean mass, increased body fat, decreased energy levels, disrupted sleep patterns, short-term results and yo-yo dieting. I’ll take the optimal health option any day over quick weight loss.

Credible personal trainers teach that fat loss, weight loss, health and wellness fit together. You can’t really have one without the others. A balanced life is definitely your best chance for a quality life.

So, I wrote my new free book, “10 Tools to Help You Live Healthier,” with the idea that you need expert guidance in many areas of life.

The experts will help you with things such as:

1. How to grow and change effectively throughout life
2. Dealing with hormonal problems (men and women)
3. Nutritional advice
4. The truth about dietary supplements
5. Healthy fat loss and weight loss
6. Postural and low back problems

Make a commitment TODAY to a lifestyle of health and fitness. Without this commitment, you will eventually go back to short-term solutions like quick weight loss.

If you need to schedule that doctor’s appointment to see where your health stands, get it done soon.

Download your free book today, “10 Tools to Help You Live Healthier.”

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

There’s not a good reason to ever try a “quick weight loss only diet” or “fad diet.” Why? Because you will end up with what you don’t want–more weight gained than what you lost.

If you try a “quick weight loss only diet,” what are you going to do once that diet ends? Another diet? You still have a lifetime to go! Get the picture? Going on diet after diet will wreck your metabolism and health.

Being fit is much more than going on a diet. Fitness is a lifestyle designed to improve your energy, your health, your mood, your self image and your body composition (among other benefits).

Here are 5 reasons quick weight loss leads to weight gain:

1. Quick weight loss leads to slowed metabolism, a weaker immune system, hormonal imbalances, loss of lean mass, increased body fat, decreased energy levels, disrupted sleep patterns, short-term results and yo-yo dieting.

Advertisements such as “lose 30 pounds in 20 days,” sends a message that has a short-term solution to your weight problem. Weight lost that quickly (without regular exercise) will be mainly lost muscle mass instead of fat mass (this will slow down your metabolism). You also might be very ill after losing that much weight in such a short period of time.

Never do crash diets or severe calorie restriction. This will usually lead to yo-yo weight loss and even more weight gain. You will regain weight quickly once you begin to eat properly again.

2. You will regain weight when you don’t change your body to more muscle mass and less fat mass. Building muscle mass will help burn fat and keep the weight loss off.

Exercise regularly with strength training and short interval cardio sessions. Too many long, slow cardio sessions will eat away at your muscles.

3. If you want to lose 20 pounds to get ready for your friend’s wedding 3 months from now, that’s great! Don’t stop exercising and eating healthy after the wedding. Keep the good exercise and eating habits going—for life. There’s no good reason to stop. That’s how you can ultimately stop the yo-yo weight loss and regain. Otherwise, you will always regain more weight than you lost.

According to Marketdata Enterprises, an estimated 54 percent of people in the United States are currently trying to lose weight. This leads many of you to buy weight loss pills and “special foods” that promote weight loss. There’s no need to do this. Just start with a regular exercise program and eat healthy based on your basal metabolic rate and activity level. You have to be willing to go with this plan for the long-term. It takes a long time to change your body’s composition.

4. If you don’t change your lifestyle habits, weight loss won’t last. The typical dieter tries a new plan four times a year. “We have this mentality that a diet is something to go on and then get off as quickly as possible,” says FITNESS advisory board member Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, founding director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Weight Management Center. “But lasting weight loss requires making lifestyle changes that will work long-term.”

“With special-occasion weight loss, it’s all about dropping pounds quickly,” Fernstrom says. Do this too often and you may find that it’s even harder to lose than before. “Constant crash dieting causes your body to cling to the calories you do eat because it’s not sure when it’s going to get more,” she explains.

Rather than keep the pounds off just long enough to impress strangers on your vacation, think about rewarding long-term achievements. Maybe you want to train for your first half-marathon or get in shape to hike the Grand Canyon. Setting a big new goal each time you check one off your list will keep you headed in the right direction.

It’s not only your waistline that suffers from yo-yoing. “Repeated crash dieting increases metabolic hormones, such as insulin, and elevates levels of sex hormones, including estrogen,” says Andrea Pennington, MD, author of The Pennington Plan for Weight Success. “These changes cause you to start putting on weight around your middle, which research has linked to insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.”

5. Your confidence takes a hit with each weight loss and weight regain episode. “The more times you go through the gain-lose-gain cycle, the less convinced you become that you can break free from the constant ups and downs,” says Keri Gans, RD, a dietitian in private practice in New York City. “No one wants to diet forever; it’s hard work.”

Burn fat, lose weight and transform your body.

Download your FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program, start burning max fat and start building your lean, hard body!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs