Eating for Energy

The World Health Organization (WHO) states, "Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It is the ability to lead a socially and economically productive life."Does that describe you? Or, like many people in North America, are you just too tired to think about being “socially and economically productive”? If you feel too tired to do much more than read this article, don’t feel alone. Up to 85% of the people that visit a doctor for any reason also complain of being chronically tired. It seems that we are in the middle of an energy crisis that has nothing to do with petroleum production!When we talk about energy we need to distinguish the difference between the ability to survive and the feeling of being energetic. We must admit that even the sickest person is converting nutrients to energy in order to survive. Yet, we want to do more than survive – we want to feel energetic. We want to have the energy to dream and then have the energy to live those dreams. We want to feel our best every day. Is that possible?
Eating for energy: fats, protein and carbohydrates.
As I mentioned, energy comes from the way our body burns nutrients such as fats, protein and carbohydrates. These nutrients must be metabolized. The word metabolism is from a Greek word that describes the process of creating energy from food. This description gives us the first hint as to how we can create and sustain an energetic feeling – by balancing our diet every day.
A balanced diet must include:
7 to 9 servings of fruit and vegetables (for adults)
30+ grams of high quality protein
20 to 35 grams of fiber

Sugars from the foods we eat provide us with ready energy, but it doesn’t last very long. Proteins are converted to energy at a much slower pace and provide us with a more stable supply of energy – five times as much energy per gram as sugar.
However, when it comes to providing energy, fat is the undisputed champion. Fat provides us with stamina. It burns slowly and steadily up to eight times longer than sugar. So for stamina that lasts all day and into the evening hours, select foods high in “good” fats.
Many experts say that we should get as much as 30% of our total calories per day from fat. This may mean more than 70 grams of fat for a 2,200 calorie per day diet. That’s a lot of fat! But don’t reach for the French fries just yet. You see, all foods contain fat. Fat is as important for plants as it is for humans. So, select fats from foods that are known for high energy, such as:
Nuts
Seeds
Olives
Avocados (guacamole)
Fatty fish All foods (including vegetables and legumes) contain some fat.

Feeling your best every day
Fuel the fires of your metabolism by eating high-energy foods. Stoke those fires by exercising at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Eat a healthy breakfast and, above all, be crystal-clear about your reasons for wanting more energy.Being energetic and feeling a zest for life is more than merely being alive. It is a sense that you have the resources you need to accomplish whatever you want: to thoroughly seize the day while you work for your dreams. Feeling energetic inspires optimism and healthy self-esteem. Feeling energetic makes you happy and gives you hope. Follow these simple steps to feel your best every day!

Take Control of Your Health
Include good fats in your diet:
Mono- and poly-unsaturated oils (e.g. olive and sesame)
Nuts – be sure they are not rancid (spoiled)
Fish – salmon, halibut, tuna and other cold-water fish
Olives – a whole-food source of olive oil and Vitamin E
Avocado – nutritious and filled with antioxidants
Avoid bad fats:
Trans fats
Hydrogenated fats
Saturated fats: a little is OK but never over 20% DV (Daily Value)

Take your supplements:
A multiple vitamin/mineral
Sublingual B-12
Vitamin C
OmegaPrime

Are You Getting Enough Nutrients in Your Diet?

As you review your diet of the past week, ask yourself, “Did I eat the right amount of fruits and vegetables every day?” The recommended amounts are five servings for children, seven servings for women and nine servings for men. If you can say “yes” – congratulations! If you are like most people you did not reach that goal. And, if you are like most of us, you did not eat all of your fruits and vegetables from an organic source; so, the fruits and vegetables may have been lacking in nutritional value.
Staying on top of our nutrient reserve is important. Our bodies make millions of new cells every day: heart cells, brain cells, bone and blood cells. Every time a cell dies it should be replaced. If you do not have the right amount of nutrients to construct a new cell you will either make an incomplete cell or none at all. The outcome is bad in either case, so we really need to keep all nutrients on board at all times.
This is why we suggest a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement.
Supplements
The word supplement means in addition to something – to make up for a deficiency. Vitamin and mineral supplements should be taken in addition to a healthy diet. They make up for the deficiency we face due to the poor nutrient density in our foods. Supplements also help out when our diet is less than perfect.The simplest way to help support your nutrition is to take a general multi-vitamin and mineral supplement that provides a broad range of nutrients at standard nutritional levels. However, please keep the following points in mind:
Some supplements contain very high doses of certain nutrients. When you take nutrients in extremely high doses, you are no longer in the world of nutritional supplementation and have passed into the riskier world of megadose treatment.
Calcium and magnesium minerals are very bulky, and few multi-vitamin/mineral supplements provide the daily requirement. These minerals generally must be taken in the form of additional pills. Note: It isn't possible for your body to absorb a day's worth of calcium in a single dose. At least two doses are necessary.
The most common nutritional deficiencies
Calcium
Helps with bone density, muscle contraction and digestion Chromium
Helps with blood sugar control Folate
Helps protect against birth defects, heart disease and depression Magnesium
Helps protect against high blood pressure, kidney stones and migraine headaches
Vitamin B-6
Helps protect against heart disease, depression and arthritis
Vitamin C
Helps with detoxification, immune system health and connective tissue
Vitamin B-12
Helps protect against anemia and fatigue. Helps with nerve health and energy
Vitamin D
Involved in bone and skin health and helps protect against diabetes and obesity
Vitamin E
Helps improve circulation
Zinc
Helps protect against acne, ADD/ADHD, the common cold and macular degenerationVery few of us are so deficient in these nutrients as to show symptoms of outright malnutrition. However, subtle deficiencies may increase the risk of a number of conditions. For example, insufficient intake of calcium and Vitamin D may increase your chances of developing osteoporosis, and inadequate folate and Vitamin B-6 may speed the development of heart disease.Besides vitamins and minerals, intake of essential omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids is often inadequate.
Finally, note that food contains many substances other than vitamins and minerals that may enhance your health.
Supplements won’t make up for bad dietary choices. We simply must commit ourselves to eating more fruits and vegetables. Still, the reality of life is that we don’t always attend to our diet perfectly. So, appropriate nutrient supplementation can help make up for the deficiency we face because of poor nutrient density in our foods and an imperfect diet.

What’s the Connection? Mental Health, Dental Health & Your Heart

Previously, we discussed the effect of loneliness on heart health. Powerful chemicals from the brain alter the way the heart functions. The heart and blood vessels respond with inflammation. Arteries harden, the efficiency of the heart muscle is reduced as the heart enlarges, and heart failure results.Other triggers of heart disease are related to dental health. Curiously, dental health and mental health are also strongly related. How does this happen? Which comes first in this triad of triggers for heart disease? Heart health, dental health Coronary artery disease (CAD) usually progresses slowly over many years.

The first sign of CAD is often a fatal heart attack. Because CAD is silent, it becomes imperative to practice preventive medicine such as testing for C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as blood pressure and cholesterol. However, another form of heart disease progresses quite rapidly. It is called “single-artery disease.”Single artery disease clogs a single artery while all or most other blood vessels remain clean. It can happen when injury or infection creates inflammation in the absence of disease:
Dental infection: One of the most common bacteria comes from a dental infection. Bacteria from inflamed gums can escape into the bloodstream and attack a single blood vessel in or near the heart.
Inflammation: Inflammation in the gums attracts white blood cells by means of protein messengers called cytokines. Some of these messengers leak into the bloodstream and attract white blood cells. White blood cells infiltrate the infected area because of the messenger cytokines. Cytokines that leak into the bloodstream and enter the heart may send the wrong message. It may also result in white blood cells attacking an artery in the heart. This is the beginning of single artery disease: white blood cells attracted by cytokines penetrate a single artery in the heart and cause blockage. Smoking increases the number of bacteria in the mouth and causes LDL cholesterol to become stickier. This bad habit also increases inflammation in the entire body. Bacteria, LDL and inflammation make for a lethal combination for CAD and single artery disease.

Dental health, mental health Mental illness comes in a variety of different forms: from anxiety and bipolar disorder to depression, schizophrenia and beyond. Among the common manifestations of these disorders is lack of attention to dental care. Irregular brushing and flossing will lead to a buildup of potentially lethal bacteria. As a result, cardiovascular disease is a common companion of mental illness.Other aspects of personal care suffer from this same inattentiveness, including diet, exercise and rest. As you know, these habits are foundations for physical and mental health. Without these essentials in place, the health spirals downward and heart failure is one of many possibilities.

Conclusion It seems that illnesses such as CAD and heart failure are much more complex than we ever imagined. Emotional distress, dental neglect, smoking and inflammation may all combine to create vascular disease. Constant attention to the 10 Essentials of Health and Wellness and normal biological needs like dental care can help us avoid many triggers for CAD and heart failure.

Essential #4 concerns nutrients that every body needs. Essential fatty acids like those found in OmegaPrime can help protect against inflammation. Vitamin C can also help reduce inflammation by cooling oxidative stress and Sublingual B-12/HCY Guard helps reduce inflammatory homocysteine. I especially like Adaptogen 10 Plus because it helps reduce the impact of stress while providing antioxidant protection. Nutrients and nurturing – including proper dental care – give us the best foundation for a life of meaning and purpose.

Preventive Measures That Can Improve Your Heart Health

Around 700,000 people in North America die from heart attacks each year. The most common cause of heart attacks is a blood clot caused by coronary artery disease (CAD). Yet, as bad as CAD is, heart attacks from narrow arteries and blood clots are not the only conditions that cause heart disease. Many heart diseases exist and are preventable with just a little care.
Common conditions
High blood pressure
The most common cause of heart disease in North America is high blood pressure; it affects 73 million people in the U.S. alone.
High blood pressure may be caused by:
Disease in the blood vessels that cause them to narrow
Imbalances in the kidneys, lungs and liver
Cardiomyopathy – a disease of the heart muscle
How to help: Keys to reducing high blood pressure are found in the 10 Essentials. Some people can reduce their high blood pressure simply by practicing deep breathing. Other techniques include increasing fruits and vegetables, and increasing fiber and water while reducing sodium.
Coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs when plaque builds up inside a blood vessel of the heart. CAD affects over 16 million people in the U.S. It leads to angina pectoris – pain caused by poor blood flow to the heart muscles – and is associated with heart attack.
How to help: Coronary artery disease responds well to a low-fat, high-fiber diet of mainly fruits and vegetables. Stress reduction and daily exercise are also effective therapies in combating CAD. Almost all heart specialists recommend Omega-3 oils such as those in OmegaPrime as effective tools in combating CAD.
Congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure (CHF) and related forms of heart failure may affect over five million people in North America. It is strongly related to diabetes and obesity. Among the most common triggers in CHF is obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea builds up blood pressure in an attempt to get oxygen to critical tissues such as the heart and brain.
How to help: Most people with CHF respond to treatment for sleep apnea, treatment with CoEnzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10), and the other suggestions already mentioned. Common remedies
Body weight and blood sugar control
Achieving and maintaining optimum body weight and blood sugar control are two suggestions that always top the list of remedies for all forms of heart disease. The Leanology program can help you meet those objectives. Leanology is much more than a “diet plan” – it helps you make the necessary lifestyle adjustments through nutrition and activity to help you reach and maintain a healthier weight.
Nutrients
OmegaPrime can help reduce the “stickiness” of blood to protect against clots and may slow down the process of plaque formation. One or two grams are enough to help protect against heart disease, but much more is needed if the heart is already diseased.
CoQ-10 offers significant benefits to the heart. It should be taken at bedtime to reduce the impact of sleep apnea on the heart and brain.
Antioxidants such as Vitamin C and resveratrol (found in Super Antioxidant Complex) are also best taken at night, then again in the morning.
Special proteins found in garlic and other antioxidants such as bilberry (found in VisionGuard) can help improve lipids such as cholesterol while opening the tiniest blood vessels in the legs, hands, eyes, ears and brain.
In the end, many of the problems with heart disease can be protected against or even solved with the tools we have readily at hand (always follow the advice of your healthcare provider for your personal condition).

Protect Yourself from Stress, the Silent Killer

Stress is an engineering term. It describes the forces that try to tear a structure apart such as weight, wind, temperature and pressure. In humans it is much the same: Certain pressures try to tear us apart. Sometimes these stresses come from inside of us; sometimes the pressures tearing us apart come from the outside.

Homeostasis is a gift that humans and other living creatures possess but bridges and buildings do not have. Homeostasis is the force that moves resources from our reserves to wherever they are needed to combat stress.

Where stress begins
Stress is caused by change – any change. Change requires us to rearrange our priorities to meet new circumstances. Stress can also be the same circumstance over time because time itself is change.

An easy way to conceptualize stress is to say it comes from inside of us and outside of us. Some examples:

Stress from inside
Hunger
Aging
Time pressure
Stress from outside
Air pollution
Water pollution
Noise pollution
Stress is the accumulation of all the things that pull us apart.

Homeostasis
The antidote to change is homeostasis. The Greek word “stasis” means to stand still or to stand equally. It describes a point where the tug-of-war balances out and motion ceases. Homeostasis is the ability of living organisms to adjust their internal environments to create balance. Of course, people can adjust their external environments as well (at least to some extent).

Just imagine all of the stresses pulling you apart every day: gravity, temperature, emotional upsets and expectations, etc. What balances that tug-of-war? The 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness!

Nutrients and nurturing
A body and mind deprived of proper nutrients and nurturing will be more prone to disease. “Disease” is the joining of two words. “Ease” is the freedom from difficulty, hardship or effort. “Dis-ease” is the opposite of ease: the things that make life more difficult and hard. It is also the abnormal functioning of the body or mind when the balancing forces of homeostasis fail to meet the demands of change.

The 10 Essentials create a reservoir of energy to combat the destructive forces of stress. For example, the simple act of breathing deeply can reduce the level of toxicity in our body and therefore reduce the state of imbalance.

Vitamins and minerals
Nutrients create a bulwark against stress as well. A reservoir of vitamins and minerals can help protect you from deficiency. Nutrient deficiency means specifically that you lack the nutrients you need to meet the stress imposed on your system. Without nutrients you will be weakened and you will lose the tug-of-war with stress. You will develop disease.

Adaptogens
Specific plants called adaptogens help pull us back into balance. Adaptogens help us adapt no matter what the situation is – no matter where stress tugs at our body and mind. A recent conference of psychiatrists and psychologists demonstrated that a single adaptogen (Rhodiola rosea) was as effective at reducing emotional stress as several popular medications.

Another paper published by the University of Toyama in Japan demonstrated that in animal models, the adaptogen Eleutherococcus senticosis hindered the brain plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease. It even helped slow some of the brain damage. Given the safety of adaptogens and the extreme nature of this stress-related disease, supplementing with these nutrients should be a daily routine for anyone concerned about the possibility of Alzheimer’s.

Conclusion
Stress pulls us apart. Homeostasis struggles to put us back together. Disease is the result of an imbalance between stress and homeostasis. Nutrients and nurturing support homeostasis and help build a bulwark against stress – the silent killer!

What Causes Bad Breath?

One of the most common complaints among people today is poor digestion. This becomes even more distressing when personal issues like poor digestion develop into social issues like bad breath. The signs and symptoms of digestive imbalance are important as we learn to listen to our body.

Learning to listen
Imagine you had to write a book describing in detail how the ecology of our earth functions – how the rain cycle works, photosynthesis, biodiversity, seasons, and so on. Now imagine you could use only 100 words. Would that be a challenge? Absolutely!

Your body has only a few words in its vocabulary. See how many you can name:
Fatigue
Pain – sharp or dull
Bleeding
Constipation or diarrhea
You get the picture. Your body must communicate an infinitely complex system with just a few “words” in the form of symptoms. So, we need to listen carefully when our body speaks to us.

The heartbreak of halitosis
Digestion begins when we feel the sense of hunger and anticipate satisfying our needs with certain foods we crave. When we see and smell those foods our anticipation is heightened and we begin to secrete digestive juices in preparation for eating. Our mouth may water; this is because digestion begins in our mouth when we chew food and mix it with saliva.

It is important to thoroughly chew our food in order to neutralize the carbohydrates found in absolutely everything we eat. One reason why some people have bad breath (halitosis) is because they just don’t chew their food well enough to neutralize the carbs. It may also be the sign of a more serious health condition.

Slow down when you eat. You will enjoy your meal more, have sweeter breath and digest your food better.

Vitamins and digestion
Our intestines are teeming with trillions of bacteria – most of them friendly! These bacteria are needed to help us utilize our vitamins and minerals. The vitamins and minerals from our food are often not in the form we need them. They must be converted through several steps in order for us to get the benefit from them.

A good example of this is B-12.
Vitamin B-12 must first bind with protein and be digested in the stomach with pepsin, which is a combination of enzymes and acids.
B-12 must be “tagged” for identification by another stomach protein called intrinsic factor. When B-12 reaches the small intestines, certain friendly bacteria begin to convert this complex. So now we have B-12, intrinsic factor, protein and bacteria all combining to prepare our vitamin for transport into the liver.
When B-12 reaches the liver it is bound to fiber and secreted through the bile back into the small intestines. More bacteria break down the vitamin into even smaller fractions.
This is repeated several times throughout our digestive cycle until the bacteria and fiber ferment the B-12; once the B-12 is fermented it can be absorbed by the liver. This may take up to three weeks.
Any imbalance in this system will result in indigestion of B-12. Any sign of indigestion or imbalance is a major red flag, warning that you are not digesting your vitamins, especially Vitamin B-12.

These signs can include:
Excess acid
Bloating
Gas
Diarrhea
Constipation
Bad breath

Take care of your digestion by eating nutritiously.
Be sure to include:
Water
Fiber
Probiotics
Vitamin B-12
Proteins
Healthy carbohydrates
Healthy fats

Remember, your digestion can also be impaired by stress. So consider ways to reduce your stress, and supplement your diet with adaptogens to protect digestive health from stress. And don’t forget the joy of eating. Joy is really a sign of acceptance. Acceptance is essential for emotional health as we learn to listen to the subtle language of our body.

Take Control of Your Health

Eat slowly
Chew your foods to liquid
Combine your foods correctly
Eat high-fiber, high water-content fruit and vegetables:
5 servings for children
7 servings for women
9 servings for men
Supplement with probiotics like Digestive Complex
Add fiber to your diet to reach 35 grams minimum
Help reduce stress and increase acceptance!

What You Can Do To Reduce Your Risk of Blood Clots

Over 300,000 people in North America die each year from stroke. Another 700,000 die each year from heart attack. The most common type of both stroke and heart attack is ischemic disease, caused by a blood clot. Damage occurs when the blood clot reduces – and then totally blocks – circulation in an artery. The tissue nourished by that artery begins to die almost immediately.

The nature of blood clots
Blood clots are a miracle when they occur in the right place at the right time. If a blood vessel is injured it sends out chemical distress signals that cause platelets to seal the leak. Platelets are small, white cells that are normally very slippery. They become sticky when the lining of the blood vessel (the endothelium) is damaged.
The endothelium sends chemical messages to the platelets.
The platelets send chemical messages to attract fibrin proteins.
Fibrin proteins are like string that becomes very sticky and ties the groups of platelets together. This is an immature or “white” blood clot.
If the leak is not sealed by this “white” clot, larger red blood cells are tied to the platelets by fibrin to form a “red” clot.

Blood clots in the wrong place – at the wrong time
Problems occur when these clots happen in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, one probable cause of migraine headaches is inappropriate communication between blood vessels and platelets. If a single blood vessel cramps or spasms it can signal platelets to become so sticky that they restrict circulation in the rest of the brain. Ischemic strokes and heart attacks are often caused by mature red clots breaking free of the injured area and blocking arteries in the heart or brain.

Interestingly, blockages from blood clots can occur in any area of the body. For instance, a person can have a “stroke” that injures the lungs or kidneys. Deep vein thrombosis in the legs is the exact same kind of vascular disease that causes stroke or heart attack.

The key to preventing damage is to make sure that the clots form only when and where they are supposed to. This is only possible with accurate communication between the endothelium in the blood vessels and the clotting mechanisms in the red blood cells, platelets and fibrin. Simple nutrients can have profound effects on improving this communication – and I make several suggestions later in this report.

Working smarter, not harder
Blood thinners force platelets and fibrin to ignore clotting signals from the endothelium. When a person is having a stroke these drugs are life-saving because the blood vessels, platelets and fibrin are getting the message to clot in the wrong place at the wrong time. One new class of drugs triggers the release of nitric oxide to open the blood vessels. Nitric oxide also helps the blood vessels, platelets and fibrin proteins communicate clearly. To prevent blood vessel miscommunication in the first place, high nitric oxide levels are needed.

Nitric oxide is made from nitrogen; nitrogen comes from fruits and vegetables. Eating up to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day will make your clotting system very smart! Plant-based foods have been proven to improve your health – including the health of your circulatory system.

Smart nutrients
Adaptogen 10 Plus®
Dr. Nathan Bryan, cardiologist and specialist in nitric oxide communication, recommends Adaptogen 10 Plus to help increase nitric oxide. Adaptogen 10 Plus also helps protect against stress. Stress alone – without any help from cholesterol – causes blood vessel spasms which may result in blood clots. So, a good first step in improving the health of your circulatory system is to eat your fruits and vegetables every day and take whole-food supplements like Adaptogen 10 Plus.

OmegaPrime®Essential fatty acids such as those in OmegaPrime can help keep the platelets from getting sticky at the wrong time. Dr. Dwight Lundell, cardiologist and specialist in bypass surgery, recommends the Omega-3 EFA in OmegaPrime as a prime tool to help protect against inappropriate clotting. We need 1–4 grams of Omega-3 every day (2–6 OmegaPrime soft gels).

HCY Guard®Dr. Kilmer McCully, cardiologist and specialist in vascular health, recommends the protective nutrients found in HCY Guard to help your body reduce homocysteine (HCY). HCY is one culprit in forming clots at the wrong place and time. Taking a single HCY Guard sublingual lozenge daily can help your body reduce homocysteine up to 35% – in as little as 42 days!
Other nutrients such as Vitamin E, turmeric and ginger, and Vitamin C all provide information for your blood clotting system to work smarter. Smart nutrients are the key to making good decisions about where and when to activate this miraculous system!