Mike Geary’s Truth About 6 Pack Abs makes some controversial claims. In this column we’re going to look at some of these statements and unlace the science behind them.
1. A 6 pack can be attain without ever having to do crunches. Everyone has stomach muscles. These are not accessible in some because they are overspread by a coating of body fat. Therefore doing 1000 crunches will build abdominal muscle but if they are still carpet by a layer of fat, they will never appear cut no matter how develop they are. It is therefore better instead work on exercises that maximise fat loss. The Truth about Six Pack Abs workout consists of exercises that maximise fat loss and thus help the purchaser to gain a six pack.
2. Breads and Pastas are unhealthy This idea comes from the paleo diet movement that is sweeping across America now. Agriculture has amended the food we consume. The agricultural revolution occurred 10,000 years ago. This is nothing in evolutionary terms so people are still shape to consume lean meats, vegetables and nuts, i.e. the same meals we consume as hunter gatherers for 2.5 million years. Breads and pastas are wheat base foods. Grains contain substances called lectins. These are proteins that cereal plants have evolved to protect themselves from insect infestation. Studies have shown that these lectins leave the body in an inflamed state which if continued over a long period of time can lead to heart disease and even cancer.
Also Read: 7 Best Floor Exercises for Abs
3. Vegetable Oil is one of the worst meals for our health Vegetable oil is removed from plants using a chemical called hexane, an entity found in petrol. Hexane is still present when we ingest vegetable oils and this has adverse effects to our constitution. On top of this vegetable oil is rich in omega 6. The ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 consumed in the Paleolithic diet is roughly 2:1. In contrast to this the ratio in the common western diet today can be as high as 20:1. This is largely due to the large amount of omega 6 present in vegetable oil. Such an imbalance again leaves the body in an inflamed state which has the same unfavourable consequences to the human body.
4. Low fat healthy foods can be worse for your constitution than the full fat alternative The most common element of low fat foods and diet drinks is that the sugar is extract from the product and replace by some form of artificial sweetener, usually splenda or aspartame. Aspartame has been shown to have negligible effects to our physical condition when consumed regularly. Splenda is more akin to a weed killing pesticide than a food item. And It has been proven to cause cancer in animals and to have negative effects on the kidneys and liver.
