Posts Tagged ‘Nutrition’
A Short Introduction To Aquarium Cycling Methods
November 20, 2010 | 
Author By setting some time aside to proper cycling, your aquarium will be much easier to maintain, since the cycling process aim to produce a thriving population of beneficial bacteria that will convert harmful waste products into less dangerous compounds. You need two types of beneficial bacteria in your aquarium.
The first type converts ammonia into nitrite, while the other type converts nitrite into nitrate. Ammonia will be produce by the metabolism of your fish and extracted from the gills and in fish poo. High levels of ammonia are dangerous to fish, but fortunately enough there exist a group of bacteria that can convert ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is actually even more toxic than ammonia, but the second group of bacteria will turn the nitrite into nitrate, which is much less toxic. The nitrate can then be removed by regular water changes.
The beneficial bacteria will of course need to be introduced to the aquarium, and this can be made by simply adding one or two sturdy fishes from species that cope well even with high levels of soluble waste. Their waste products will contain live bacteria than can start to colonies suitable homes in the aquarium, such as sponge filters and gravel. If you want to jump start the process, you can purchase a bacterial solution from the fish store that contains the right type of nitrifying bacteria. You can also use gravel or sponge from an already established aquarium when you set up a new one, but you should keep in mind that this can introduce benevolent bacteria as well.
When you purchase a bacterial culture form the fish store, you should always carefully read the label and avoid getting nitrobacter bacteria. Earlier, nitrobacter bacteria was believed to be very powerful converters of nitrite to nitrate, but scientific studies have now showed that nitrospira bacteria are much stronger converters. Some fish stores still sell nitrobacter bacteria, even though nitrospira bacteria are a better choice.
Another method of cycling the aquarium is the so called ‘fishless cycle’. This cycling method is much less frequently used compared to the one that uses cycling fish, but it has grown increasingly popular during the last few years. During fishless cycling, you will add small amounts of pure ammonia to the water together with nitrifying bacteria and wait for them to form large colonies. You will need a test kit to measure the amounts of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Investing in a test kit is however a good idea even if you use fish to cycle your aquarium.
A third cycling method uses plants and is commonly referred to as ‘silent cycling’. This method requires a densely planted aquarium with thriving plants. You should therefore avoid sensitive, demanding and slow growing plant species. During the silent cycling, the plants will consume nitrogenous compounds and use them as nutrition. Aquarists fond of this method like it since it does not produce the ammonia and nitrate spikes that are common during other forms of cycling. You should keep in mind that when plants absorb nitrogenous compounds they incorporate them leaves and stems. If the plant, or a part of the plant, dies and starts to decay, the compounds will therefore be re-released into the water. Pruning the aquatic plants and removing any dead parts are therefore important.
Posted in Cycling | 
Tags: ...P, a, aim, ammonia, Aquarists, Aquarium, bacterial culture, beneficial bacteria, choic, choice, converters, course, Culture, cycle, Cycling, dangerous compounds, decay, fish, fish store, fish store cyprus, fish stores, fishes, form, gen, gills, goo, gravel, group, group of bacteria, hen, idea, introduction, kit, l, label, metabolism, method, Methods, mind, nitrate, nitrifying bacteria, nitrite, Nitrobacter, nitrobacter bacteria, nitrospira, Nutrition, Part, plant, poo, population, process, pruning, right, s, second group, Short, Solution, sponge, sponge filters, sponge with bacteria on it from fish shop, Start, Store, tagging of nitrifying bacteria, test, Time, Two, Type, waste, water | 
No Comments »
Improving Concentration
So you want to learn about improving concentration? If you are like me, until I did a bit of research, you thought that the key to improved concentration was gritting your teeth and squinting your eyes at the topic you want to concentrate on.
The key to improving concentration is actually relaxation, which opens the higher perceptual centers of the brain.
In fact, there is evidence from brain wave biofeedback work done by Barry Sterman,Ph.D., that increased productivity is actually a function of a brain moving between beta brain waves associated with focused external awareness and cycling at 15-42 cycles per second and alpha brain waves associated with relaxed external focus cycling at 8-15 cycles per second.
What that means is that brains that know how to move between work and rest styles of attention quickly are able to handle very stressful situations, like simulated combat pilot training, more effectively than brains that stay stuck in the beta attentional state.
So the required rest period for improving concentration can be very brief, but it does have to happen.
If you think about a workout for your bicep, you flex the muscle only 8-12 times per set, and then relax between repititions and you may only do one set of curls per workout.
The growth of the muscle comes across time, but the stress on the muscle is very brief.
Same principle for improving concentration, and since concentration happens in the brain, I think improving concentration should begin with a workout for your brain.
After all, the brain map for your bicep and your concentration both reside there, and if you want to take a look at an excellent source of information for your brain workout, then please take a look at Brainfit for Life written by Simon Evans,Ph.D. and Paul Burghardt,Ph.D., who are neuroscientists at the University of Michigan.
Luckily for us, they leave the jargon in the laboratory, and write very succinctly for us improving concentration junkies, so we know what the pillars of brain fitness are, and how to make sure our brain is really ready to focus more clearly. Evans and Burghardt spend some time discussing the dual n back task in their book, and if you want to improve your concentration using the dual n back as a novel learning experience, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
But first a bit about the pillars of brain fitness, and taking care of them is a prerequisite for improving concentration.
The pillars of brain fitness are physical activity/exercise, nutrition including lots of antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids, sleep, stress management, and novel learning experience.
When I taking care of the pillars I am increasing a couple of very important capacities of the human brain, neurogenesis, or the growth of new brain cells, and neuroplasticity, which is making it possible for neurons to connect in new ways, forming new networks, and that is actually why I concentrate, to learn new material.
The most important pillar for improving brain fitness and improving concentration is the physical activity or exercise pillar, and that is where Evans and Burghardt start.
For a clear understanding of the physical exercise, nutrition, and sleep pillars, please read their book.
The last two pillars, stress management and novel learning experience are the two pillars most germane to our improving concentration topic.
The novel learning pillar means that for increased neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, I need to challenge my brain with new learning, and the experts say that the best kind of learning is the learning my brain undergoes when it learns a new language or musical instrument, because of the increasing levels of complexity and chance for positive feedback.
But if you want neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis, and improved concentration, but do not have time to learn a new language or instrument, what should you do, because Evans and Burghardt are quite specific about the kind of learning required.
They do discuss research about the dual n back task, which has been shown to increase IQ or at least what is called fluid intelligence.
Doing the dual n back is addictive, once you get the hang of it, and it will teach you very rapidly how fast your attention wanders, and train you to stay focused while on task, like when you are flexing your bicep in a workout.
The commercial version of the dual n back practices are about 1/2 hour long, and the initial training is a practice per day for 19 days. Each trial will present the auditory and visual stimulus to you and give you time to respond, and provides increasing challenge level as you progress.
Just like a physical workout, then you need maintenance sessions to keep the neurons in the brain map of increased concentration well connected.
There are some other great computerized brain fitness programs out there which will help with improving your concentration, and once you have done that, it will be easier for you to reveal your inner rock star as you learn the guitar.
If you are my age, that means you will look like Bowser of Sha Na Na doing infomercials.
Posted in Cycling | Tags: ...P, a, alpha brain waves, attentional, auditory, awareness, Best, bicep, biofeedback, bit, brain, brain wave, brain workout, Brainfit, brains, brainwave feedback concentration, burghardt, Care, Chance, Combat, combat pilot, complexity, concentration, curls, cycles per second, Cycling, day, evidence, exercise, external focus, external focus feedback, feedback, Fitness, fluid intelligence brainwaves, focus, fun, function, gen, germane, Great, hen, Improving, improving concentration, increased productivity, Information, intelligence, jargon, junkies, key, l, language, level, life, Maintenance, management, Michigan, neuroplasticity, novel, Nutrition, omega, period, pillars, pilot training, prerequisite, progress, rest, rest period, rock, s, Second, set, simon evans, Start, state, sterman, stimulus, stress, stressful situations, Time, topic, Two, Understanding, university, wave, work | No Comments »
Get More Out of Mountain Biking (Whey Protein, Mountain Biking, and Weight Loss)
Mountain biking is a great way to get a workout. Mountain biking is a way to get away from civilization and get a connection with nature. Whether that connection is to see the beauty of wildlife without the human sounds of large gas powered motors, or to experience the rush of a trail that Mother Nature seemed to create to challenge the skills of an experienced rider. Another great thing about Mountain Biking is no matter how many times a rider will ride a trail it will give you a new challenge every time.
If people are looking to lose weight, no matter what level of athlete, mountain biking will provide a quality workout. Studies have shown that a large number of people fail at an exercise routine due to a lack of variety. That is one of the major issues people face when they buy a single piece of fitness equipment, such as a treadmill. There isn’t much of a difference from day to day in a workout on a treadmill. That lack of variety turns people off. Even with people joining a gym there is still a lack of variety in cardiovascular training. Mountain Biking will give similar results to a cardiovascular workout one receives on a treadmill; however, the different trails that a person can ride will keep people engaged and consistently riding. Mountain biking also provides the interest of a hobby for people who get to maintain their bikes.
The majority of the work that people need to put into being an excellent mountain biker is on their bikes. Yet, a small change that can give mountain bikers a boost is to better manage their nutrition. Mountain bikers should be trying to build lean muscle. Maintaining a healthy nutritional program will provide your body with the building blocks it requires to create the lean muscle. An increase in protein is a great way for people to build lean muscle.
Protein supplements are the best way to add a boost of protein to your diet. An active person should try to intake half their body weight in grams of protein, meaning that if a person weighs 200 pounds they should get 100 grams of protein in their daily diet. A good protein supplement will provide at least 19 grams of protein per serving. When looking for a protein supplement look to purchase Whey Protein. Whey Protein is dairy based, and is easier for bodies to metabolize compared to soy based proteins. They also include more protein and less fats and carbohydrates than soy based protein. The other important thing is to purchase Isolate Whey Protein. Whey Protein Isolate contains 90% per protein. The other change in diet that people should do when they increase their protein intake is to increase the amount of water that they drink. Besides the health benefits of drinking more water, additional water will help your body to process the additional protein into lean muscle.
Mountain biking is a great way to get a workout. Yet, to get the most out of mountain biking or any workout adding protein to your diet will improve your performance.
Posted in Bike | Tags: ...P, a, air, amount, athlete, Beauty, Best, biker, Bikes, Biking, body, boost, building blocks, cardiovascular training, cardiovascular workout, Change, civilization, connection, dairy, day, Diet, difference, due, equipment, exercise, exercise routine, Fitness, fitness equipment, gas, goo, Great, gym, health, hen, hobby, interest, isn, Isolate, joining a gym, l, lack, lean muscle, level, loss, Maintaining, majority, matter what level, metabolize, More, Mother, mother nature, Mountain, mountain biker, mountain bikers, mountain biking, muscle protein, Nature, new challenge, number, Nutrition, performance, person, piece, program, protein, protein supplements, quality, quality workout, rider, s, son, soy, thing, Time, Trail, training, treadmill, way, weight, Whey, whey protein, Wildlife, work | No Comments »