Living Young Forever

Even though there is much debate from the health community on what form of protein is best. The good news is regardless of your preference if you are in a modern industrialized country you will not lack for resources.

The the most important thing to keep in mind is that what ever your preference is it needs to be a”complete” protein. This why a protein supplement can be a great resource to meet your daily requirements of protein. It is important to know that a Complete Protein is  a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all of the essential amino acids for the bodies dietary needs. These essential amino acids should include the following in adequate ratios histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. The reason they are considered essential is because our body does not produce them. Therefore we need to get them from other sources such as meats, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and milk.  Supplements such as protein shakes or protein bars are also an excellent way to get your daily complete protein and reduce the intake of saturated fats.

An important note to all this is that failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 10 essential amino acids can have serious health implications and can result in degradation of the body’s proteins. Muscle and other protein structures may be dismantled to obtain the one amino acid that is needed. “Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use the amino acids must be in the food every day. This is why a supplement containing a full profile of amino acids like a protein shake or protein bar can be very important in getting an adequate amount of  complete protein every day to to maintain healthy muscle tissue.

I still find it amusing after all these years that here in the good old USA we are still saying we are on the “standard” system of measurement. As opposed to our friends in the rest of the world that are using the “metric” system.  Although officially it is true I still ask the question, why does the food labeling  system use grams as a unit of measurement instead of ounces?  The  preparation instructions if needed on the product is not in metric. I am sure that this is a very debatable subject for another time that would spawn everything from conspiracy theories to down right marketing deception.

The problem however is that most Americans grew up with there primary education in standard measurements so a gram for example has very little meaning as to actual volume. With this in mind a beverage label might read 20 grams of sugar  but most people have no idea that what this means is that they are actually consuming approximately 5 teaspoons of sugar. So when was the last time you knowingly put 5 teaspoons of sugar in your coffee or tea?

The point here is that product labeling can be very miss leading because of the conversion factor, making it difficult for consumers that are truly looking for healthy food choices and healthy snacks to make the right decisions based on labeling. Our simple advice is to limit intake of commercially processed foods and go right for the fresh produce section as often as possible. After all I have not seen an apple with a nutritional label on it yet and the scale at the grocery store still reads in good old POUNDS and ONCES.

With all the choices in the vitamin isle these days it is not hard to understand why most people get overwhelmed and intimidated trying to figure out what is right for them. Add to that tying to decipher the ingredients and those cool Latin words becomes nearly impossible unless your are an herbalist or nutritionist.

So where do you start? It is not as complicated as you may think. Most people that have a fairly healthy lifestyle such as eating right, regular exercise and adequate rest can usually start with a high quality whole food vitamin supplement to give them that added nutritional boost. After that depending on additional lifestyle factors such as stress and health situations you may want to start a customized plan. For example you my consider adding additional vitamin B-12 for stress situations or vitamin C to boost your immune system . For a truly customized plan it is best to consult a health professional trained in nutritional evaluation for your specific needs. Once you have done that shopping for vitamins gets easy,  just look  for the recommended high quality product at the best price.

B12 is the most structurally complex of the eight B vitamins. These vitamins are often utilized for their health benefits – most notably their role in increasing metabolism and bolstering the immune system. Certain B vitamins have even been shown to reduce the risk of anemia by increasing red blood cell count.

Vitamin b-12 deficiency in humans can lead to depression, fatigue, psychosis and other serious symptoms. The vitamin is absorbed through a complicated process that begins in the mouth, but most of it is absorbed in the gut. Elderly people sometimes experience B vitamin deficiencies due to decreased absorption abilities. B12 can be supplemented in pill form if people fail to consume enough milk, eggs and meat to get the vitamin naturally.

Theories come and go about what type of exercise is optimal for ageing well and living a full active life into our golden years. In the 70’s and early 80’s jogging and aerobics such as jazzercise was believed to be the best because of the cardiovascular benefits. Unfortunately because of repetitive over use and jogging on hard surfaces such as pavement, ankle, knee, hip and low back injuries  became problematic. The backlash being once injured getting adequate exercise became difficult and sometimes no longer possible due to the injury.

Science has now shown us that a variety of activities in moderation is best. One of the key components found to be the most important was resistance training better know as weight training. Research has confirmed that strong muscles mean a strong stable skeletal system and the lean muscle helps burn calories reducing body fat. The good news is you don’t have to join a gym and start pumping iron to get this benefit. Anything that causes an additional workload for each muscle group such as resistance bands that you can use at home will give you great results. Even good old fashioned calisthenics using your on body weight as resistance such as push-ups will work.

So what are you waiting for no more excuses you can keep fit in the privacy of your own home with just simple inexpensive training equipment. Better yet invite a friend over for a healthy breakfast and exercise together. Just keep consistent, be patient and don’t get discouraged. And remember if you are just starting out, start slow and get a health evaluation form your family doctor before starting.

Anti-Ageing? Does this mean I have to be in these diapers forever Mom?

Finally the era of “Anti-Aging” is almost over. The baby boomers are discovering that it is not about “not aging” but about aging well. Something our moms and dads from the previous generation already new. After all if you did not age you would either be dead or be in a science fiction movie about vampires.

So if we can’t stop getting older and there is no stopping the passage of time what then is the answer? Has all this hoop-la about “anti-aging” been a fraud. My answer is no I do not believe it is or was, it has just been miss guided and exploited by sometimes unethical capitalists playing off the fears and egos of the uneducated. Which is not an insult to the general population it is just most people do not have the time or the inclination to get a degree in the wellness arts and sciences. So they rely on the media/ advertising and so called experts such as the latest celebrity fad for answers to living well and a life fully alive.

So what to do then? Well it is very simple actually. I am about to give you the secret to aging well for free. Eat healthy, do something physical to get your body moving (exercise), get adequate rest, drink lots of clean water and breath clean fresh air. And last but not least laugh every day and find something nice to say about everything. If you want a little insurance on living well and living longer add some daily whole food nutritional supplements to your healthy life style.

The seven glorious green foods include wheat-grass, barley grass, alfalfa, chlorella, spirulina, blue-green algae (AFA), and green tea. These powerful food sources are rich in antioxidants — phenolic acids, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene — compounds that have all demonstrated powerful free-radical antioxidant protection in test-tube and experimental models. In a study on spirulina conducted by Brazilian researcher, M.S. Miranda in 1998 has proven that consuming green foods have remarkable health benefits .

Each one of these super foods consumed alone has been clinically proven to help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and lower cholesterol along with other amazing health benefits. However when combined and consumed together there synergistic effect  become known as the Super Green Food. Readily available in a concentrated tablet or powder  form anyone can get the remarkable health benefits from this nutritionally dense food.

Why choose Whole Food Vitamins?

There is continuing debate among the scientific community regarding the use of synthetic vitamins over whole food vitamins with no apparent agreement in sight. As the PhDs of the world continue to sift through the data here is our opinion based on erring on the side of good old fashioned common sense or as we call it uncommon sense.

Until the world of science can agree that Laboratory Synthesized Vitamins are better or as good as real food than we will stick to REAL FOOD. While the scientists continue there debate about Whole Food Vitamins, we asked this question. If a  waiter at a restaurant asked you if  would you like plastic fruit tonight for desert or fresh picked fruit out of our garden which would you choose? Hm mm let me think about that one. Or do you really need to? It should be a no brain-er.

Obviously laboratory mimicked vitamins are not plastic but we think you get the point. So until the “experts” come to a definitive conclusion I will stick to the real deal, Whole Food Nutrient Rich Supplements.

Well this is where it all comes together. Exercise, Working Out and now Training. It is our opinion that Training stands alone in the fitness world as the most powerful and empowering term one can use to achieve your heath and wellness goals. The key word here is GOAL. Here is why.

When we looked at exercise we saw that it is a very general term used to describe keeping the body in motion which will naturally create some benefits towards achieving good physical health. Then we looked at working out and its use to convey a more structured formal environment or system to again get the body in motion to create physical health. If you consistently combine either of these methods  with healthy eating habits, the outcome will always be improved health and wellness.

So  now we come back to our favorite term “Training”.  A term that I personally use nearly exclusively. When one trains there is always a specific method or system that is employed that will create a specific and measurable outcome with a specific goal in mind. WOW yes there is a major difference. As the other terms are very general and geared for the general health benefits derived from physical activity. When you train you have a purpose and your training is on purpose. Big difference. Now with that said it is perfectly fine of course to take up any methodology to maintain or achieve wellness. The point here is that if you have a specific goal such as losing body fat, want to run a marathon or even recover from an injury or illness, you have better odds in achieving it if you “Train” for it. No mater whether it is someone tying to be #1 in a spelling B or your goal is to be the healthiest looking  person at your 20 year  high school reunion you always have to train for it. If you use that word when speaking about what you are doing you are more likely to stick with it all the way to the finish line.

Thank you for staying with this one I know it was a long blog. It is our hope we gave you a new way to look at getting out and getting in the game and inspired you to a new level of Training for health and a life fully alive.