The average person in North America lives about 77 years.Imagine building a skyscraper that was 77 stories tall. How sound would it be at the top floor if a beam were mislaid in the foundation?
Healthy aging means that we build a structure (us!) that is sound, habitable and healthy - right to the very top floor. This life-long building process begins at the foundation: our DNA. How cells workThere may be trillions of cells in the human body. Cells are like tiny factories. Each one has a function and a product to produce. Our DNA orchestrates the production of tiny proteins that are made into enzymes, hormones and other products of the cell.Under extreme circumstances the cell will alter its production of basic, life-sustaining proteins and produce whatever is necessary to meet a crisis. For example, when we are under stress our adrenal glands produce large amounts of adrenaline. They don?t normally produce much adrenaline; they usually produce mineral corticoids that help us build healthy bones. Under stress they change their function.Under stress our cells stop producing the things that build us up (anabolism) and start producing things that tear us down (catabolism). Your body does this because the message of stress is that it must sacrifice healthy function - healthy aging - for a time to produce energy needed to ensure our safety. This is an acceptable trade if we are using the energy to get out of oncoming traffic! It is a poor way to deal with constant, chronic, daily stress.
The DNA is sensitive to signals of stress because it is designed to help us survive. We must be very careful of the physical, emotional and mental signals we send our cells. According to Candace Pert, Ph.D., author of the book, Molecules of Emotion every thought we think, every food we eat or drink, and every breath we take washes over our DNA as information. Our DNA responds by either building us up (anabolism) or tearing us down (catabolism) to sacrifice on the altar of chronic stress. Adaptogens carry information that helps our DNA select anabolism to build us up, even under extreme stress.Building healthy cellsHealthy cells make healthy tissues. Healthy tissues of different types are collected together as organs. For example, your liver consists of many hundreds of different types of cells all collected together to make up your liver. Organs work within systems (for example, your digestive system, immune system, etc.). Systems combine to form a healthy, functioning body. Still, the basic unit of life is the cell and the basic "conductor" - orchestrating the function of the cell - is the DNA.
In order for our DNA to accomplish the task of building healthy cells we must provide the necessary nutrients every day. We have specific requirements for health: fats and proteins, carbohydrates and water, oxygen, minerals and vitamins, etc. If we are missing even a single nutrient at the critical moment it is needed, our cells will not be able to carry out their work of creating healthy proteins. Incomplete proteins are produced, cells become toxic and these become the focus for inflammation and disease.We simply must provide our cells with the nutrients they need every day.Toxic DNA
It is important to know that your DNA never produces disease. Instead, it produces proteins with the raw materials it has at that moment and in response to information it receives. That information comes in the form of nutrients and toxins from both inside and outside our body. Healthy application of the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness and daily healthy aging nutrients send positive (anabolic) messages to your DNA. Trauma, toxins, deficiencies and stress send negative (catabolic) messages to your DNA.Trauma, toxins, deficiencies and stress damage your DNA and cause it to produce incomplete, toxic proteins. These proteins become the source of inflammation and disease. Many nutrients help repair the DNA. A special antioxidant polyphenol called ECGC found in green tea and concentrated in Energy Now!® takes the lead in antioxidant DNA repair. CoEnzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) adds fuel to the repair process and works in concert with ECGC.
Conclusion
Like a healthy building, we need a solid foundation. The difference between our health and the health of a building is that our cells renew periodically; they are not fixed when manufactured. Therefore, we can correct any building errors by applying sound, healthy essentials. We can improve our health by building healthy cells at any age. We are literally one choice away from improving healthy cellular function: the choice to live the 10 Essentials.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Lose a Little Weight... Gain a Lot of Health Benefits
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Setting and achieving worthwhile goals is the key to lasting happiness. Some goals seem so large that they must be comparable to eating an elephant - just too big to even know how to begin. Weight loss can be that challenging for many. There is good news, though. Losing just a little can have profound health benefits.
I want to make a suggestion that I have seen work countless times: If you are overweight or obese, set a goal to lose only 10% of your body weight. That's all - just 10%. Meeting this goal will give you most of the health benefits and much of the energy you will need to improve your life substantially.It is often said that weight loss is simple, just not easy. Many experts tout the "calories in - calories out" formula as if it were Holy Scripture. I first heard this as the prescription for weight loss when I was a teenager. Now, here I am well over 50 years of age and I still hear it almost daily. In those intervening decades we have experienced an explosion of obesity. So, merely repeating the same formula over and over is clearly not working!What does work?
Purpose!Purpose works because it ignites passion. Purpose defines the reason for effort - for example, the reason we want to lose weight - while passion translates that sense of purpose into motion. Granted, some people want weight loss for reasons that do not require much passion. Cosmetic weight loss may be one example and disease prevention may be another. Purpose requires a plan. In a previous Weekly Wellness Report I detailed how we set "SMART" goals:
Specific
Measureable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Take that sense of purpose fueled by your passion and structure a plan that will help you accomplish your mission.
Purpose, passion, plan and mission are successful strategies when it comes to weight loss. We have seen this time and again. Now, this is not as simple as "calories in - calories out." But it is easy. And it works with the way we function as human beings: with purpose!
Even a little helpsTo reach your SMART goals you will likely need better health and more energy. Did you know that even modest amounts of weight loss can provide you with substantial improvements in vitality?
If your BMI calculation is over 25, consider making it a SMART goal to lose 10% of your body weight. Losing just 10% of your body weight as fat can help improve your blood pressure, blood sugar, digestion and metabolism. You will have more energy, better self-esteem and a more optimistic view of life in general.
Remember, the elephant you are trying to eat, so to speak, is not weight loss itself. Trimming down gives you more energy to do the things that matter to you the most. Weight loss is a means to an end: a means to living a life of purpose. So, as a milestone on your goal toward a life of purpose, set a 10% reduction in weight as a SMART goal. Use a body composition scale to make sure that you are losing only fat, not lean tissue like muscles, bones and brain. You will need those as assets in your journey. Our Leanology® body-composition program was thoroughly reviewed in an Arizona State University study. Researchers found that with Leanology, 100% of the weight loss came from fat - none from vital, energy-producing organs.
Maintain balanceSo, do you know how to eat an elephant? The answer is still "one bite at a time," only now we see that there must be a valid reason for eating the elephant in the first place! Don't try to eat the elephant all at once and don't try to do it alone. Purpose, passion, plan and mission are the stuff of life. Yet, life is about balance. As humans, we Love, we Play, we Work and we Worship.
Our manner of life should reflect these priorities.
Setting and achieving worthwhile goals is the key to lasting happiness. Some goals seem so large that they must be comparable to eating an elephant - just too big to even know how to begin. Weight loss can be that challenging for many. There is good news, though. Losing just a little can have profound health benefits.
I want to make a suggestion that I have seen work countless times: If you are overweight or obese, set a goal to lose only 10% of your body weight. That's all - just 10%. Meeting this goal will give you most of the health benefits and much of the energy you will need to improve your life substantially.It is often said that weight loss is simple, just not easy. Many experts tout the "calories in - calories out" formula as if it were Holy Scripture. I first heard this as the prescription for weight loss when I was a teenager. Now, here I am well over 50 years of age and I still hear it almost daily. In those intervening decades we have experienced an explosion of obesity. So, merely repeating the same formula over and over is clearly not working!What does work?
Purpose!Purpose works because it ignites passion. Purpose defines the reason for effort - for example, the reason we want to lose weight - while passion translates that sense of purpose into motion. Granted, some people want weight loss for reasons that do not require much passion. Cosmetic weight loss may be one example and disease prevention may be another. Purpose requires a plan. In a previous Weekly Wellness Report I detailed how we set "SMART" goals:
Specific
Measureable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Take that sense of purpose fueled by your passion and structure a plan that will help you accomplish your mission.
Purpose, passion, plan and mission are successful strategies when it comes to weight loss. We have seen this time and again. Now, this is not as simple as "calories in - calories out." But it is easy. And it works with the way we function as human beings: with purpose!
Even a little helpsTo reach your SMART goals you will likely need better health and more energy. Did you know that even modest amounts of weight loss can provide you with substantial improvements in vitality?
If your BMI calculation is over 25, consider making it a SMART goal to lose 10% of your body weight. Losing just 10% of your body weight as fat can help improve your blood pressure, blood sugar, digestion and metabolism. You will have more energy, better self-esteem and a more optimistic view of life in general.
Remember, the elephant you are trying to eat, so to speak, is not weight loss itself. Trimming down gives you more energy to do the things that matter to you the most. Weight loss is a means to an end: a means to living a life of purpose. So, as a milestone on your goal toward a life of purpose, set a 10% reduction in weight as a SMART goal. Use a body composition scale to make sure that you are losing only fat, not lean tissue like muscles, bones and brain. You will need those as assets in your journey. Our Leanology® body-composition program was thoroughly reviewed in an Arizona State University study. Researchers found that with Leanology, 100% of the weight loss came from fat - none from vital, energy-producing organs.
Maintain balanceSo, do you know how to eat an elephant? The answer is still "one bite at a time," only now we see that there must be a valid reason for eating the elephant in the first place! Don't try to eat the elephant all at once and don't try to do it alone. Purpose, passion, plan and mission are the stuff of life. Yet, life is about balance. As humans, we Love, we Play, we Work and we Worship.
Our manner of life should reflect these priorities.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Strategies for Protecting Your Eyesight
Vision is freedom.
With good eyesight our world abounds with endless opportunities. With diminished or lost eyesight our world must get smaller as we rely on other senses and other people for mobility. No one can truly understand how much we rely on our vision until they are deprived of this precious gift.
Protection: The first step
Nourishing vision that will last a lifetime requires a combination of nutrients from within our body, and barrier protection from irritants outside our body. The most important of exterior protection is protective eyewear. Glasses, goggles and face shields provide barrier protection from injuries, toxins and poisons, sun and wind (select lenses or coatings that offer both UV-A and UV-B light filters). Protecting our vision from the inside requires:
Appropriate hydration (water) – We should calculate our body weight, cut that number in half and convert this final number into ounces of water we will consume every day. I weigh about 190 pounds. Half that number is 95. So, 95 represents the number of ounces of water I should drink every day for good vision.
Intense nutrition – Nutrients must include vision-specific antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin. Other nutrients may be added depending on specific needs. For example, poor night vision responds well to anthocyanins – nutrients found in berries such as bilberries and schizandra berries. As the ancient physician Maimonides once said, “To heal an eye you must heal the head and even the entire body.” In keeping with this ancient wisdom, we need Healthy Aging nutrients as a foundation for eye health and a healthy body.
Sleep – Is sleep really that important for healthy vision? Yes! Your eyes heal from all the stress and strain of the day. Also, as with any other body system, your eyes run on the nutrients mentioned above. These nutrients accumulate at a slow rate and are expended at a fast rate. Sleeping allows nutrients to accumulate so you can awaken with bright eyes! This is the reason I suggest taking TriVita’s VisionGuard™ at bedtime.
Maintenance and prevention
Imagine for a moment that you have perfect 20/20 vision (you see objects 20 feet away from you as if they are actually 20 feet away). You have no family history of vision problems at all. You drink enough water, get enough rest, take the appropriate nutrients and employ the best eye protection. Should you still get your vision tested? Yes, you absolutely should!A healthy person should get their vision and eye health tested every decade of their life until they reach age 40. As you enter your 40s you should have your vision tested about every two years. This is appropriate maintenance.
If yours is not the fairy-tale world described above, then a solid, aggressive program of prevention is essential to help protect against these common eye conditions:
Presbyopia is the inability to focus and clearly see objects that are within reading distance or closer. See a skilled optometrist for eye exercises which can help prevent or treat it.
Cataracts form when the outside of the eye is damaged. Protect your eyes from smoke, injury and UV-light rays with appropriate eyewear and by simply staying away from dirty air. Insulate them from within with antioxidants known to slow the progression of cataracts. Hydroxytyrosol is a good example of a protective antioxidant, and it is contained in VisionGuard.
Glaucoma occurs when pressure builds up inside the eyes and distresses the optic nerve. If the nerve dies, your vision dies. Get regular eye-pressure tests to detect glaucoma and use nutrients that encourage normal pressure in your eyes such as Vitamin C and Alpha Lipoic Acid. Remember, glaucoma is a medical emergency and you must seek out the very best medical care to preserve your vision.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in North America. The eyes simply wear out. Some of the premature aging of the eyes in AMD is because of poor interaction with genetics. For example, a person with a family history of AMD should take better care of their eyes than a person without that family history. They should apply these recommendations more aggressively instead of accepting vision loss without a fight! The most common contributors to AMD are overuse and undernourishment of the eyes. Many people with AMD are exposed to environmental factors such as the bright lights of a welding torch. Again, aggressive protection can delay vision loss from external sources while appropriate water intake, sleep and nutrition can increase the health of the eyes. Conclusion
Healthy vision means freedom. Being aware of the little things – and the big things – you can do every day to guard your vision is a step toward ensuring you have the mobility you need to meet the many purposes in your life!
With good eyesight our world abounds with endless opportunities. With diminished or lost eyesight our world must get smaller as we rely on other senses and other people for mobility. No one can truly understand how much we rely on our vision until they are deprived of this precious gift.
Protection: The first step
Nourishing vision that will last a lifetime requires a combination of nutrients from within our body, and barrier protection from irritants outside our body. The most important of exterior protection is protective eyewear. Glasses, goggles and face shields provide barrier protection from injuries, toxins and poisons, sun and wind (select lenses or coatings that offer both UV-A and UV-B light filters). Protecting our vision from the inside requires:
Appropriate hydration (water) – We should calculate our body weight, cut that number in half and convert this final number into ounces of water we will consume every day. I weigh about 190 pounds. Half that number is 95. So, 95 represents the number of ounces of water I should drink every day for good vision.
Intense nutrition – Nutrients must include vision-specific antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin. Other nutrients may be added depending on specific needs. For example, poor night vision responds well to anthocyanins – nutrients found in berries such as bilberries and schizandra berries. As the ancient physician Maimonides once said, “To heal an eye you must heal the head and even the entire body.” In keeping with this ancient wisdom, we need Healthy Aging nutrients as a foundation for eye health and a healthy body.
Sleep – Is sleep really that important for healthy vision? Yes! Your eyes heal from all the stress and strain of the day. Also, as with any other body system, your eyes run on the nutrients mentioned above. These nutrients accumulate at a slow rate and are expended at a fast rate. Sleeping allows nutrients to accumulate so you can awaken with bright eyes! This is the reason I suggest taking TriVita’s VisionGuard™ at bedtime.
Maintenance and prevention
Imagine for a moment that you have perfect 20/20 vision (you see objects 20 feet away from you as if they are actually 20 feet away). You have no family history of vision problems at all. You drink enough water, get enough rest, take the appropriate nutrients and employ the best eye protection. Should you still get your vision tested? Yes, you absolutely should!A healthy person should get their vision and eye health tested every decade of their life until they reach age 40. As you enter your 40s you should have your vision tested about every two years. This is appropriate maintenance.
If yours is not the fairy-tale world described above, then a solid, aggressive program of prevention is essential to help protect against these common eye conditions:
Presbyopia is the inability to focus and clearly see objects that are within reading distance or closer. See a skilled optometrist for eye exercises which can help prevent or treat it.
Cataracts form when the outside of the eye is damaged. Protect your eyes from smoke, injury and UV-light rays with appropriate eyewear and by simply staying away from dirty air. Insulate them from within with antioxidants known to slow the progression of cataracts. Hydroxytyrosol is a good example of a protective antioxidant, and it is contained in VisionGuard.
Glaucoma occurs when pressure builds up inside the eyes and distresses the optic nerve. If the nerve dies, your vision dies. Get regular eye-pressure tests to detect glaucoma and use nutrients that encourage normal pressure in your eyes such as Vitamin C and Alpha Lipoic Acid. Remember, glaucoma is a medical emergency and you must seek out the very best medical care to preserve your vision.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in North America. The eyes simply wear out. Some of the premature aging of the eyes in AMD is because of poor interaction with genetics. For example, a person with a family history of AMD should take better care of their eyes than a person without that family history. They should apply these recommendations more aggressively instead of accepting vision loss without a fight! The most common contributors to AMD are overuse and undernourishment of the eyes. Many people with AMD are exposed to environmental factors such as the bright lights of a welding torch. Again, aggressive protection can delay vision loss from external sources while appropriate water intake, sleep and nutrition can increase the health of the eyes. Conclusion
Healthy vision means freedom. Being aware of the little things – and the big things – you can do every day to guard your vision is a step toward ensuring you have the mobility you need to meet the many purposes in your life!