Living Young Forever

This is Food? "NOT"

The foods we eat are not providing our bodies with the nutrition it needs to survive and be healthy. We are starving our bodies and we are sick. We suffer from diabetes, heart attacks, obesity, and the list goes on and on.

Given proper nutrition, the human body has an amazing ability to heal itself. If properly fed and given the right nutrients, the human body is designed to repair itself.

To do so, we need to eat a healthier diet, exercise, and take high-quality supplements made from whole foods. Whole food supplements supply our bodies with nutrients we are not getting from our diet, all the vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, and phyto-nutrients that foods possess in a way that nature intended, in a whole food form.

Well admittedly I have been not been Blogging much this Holiday Season as I have been winding the year down and enjoying family and friends. I hope you have been able to do the same.

No mater what reason you celebrate the mid winter Holiday Season, one thing is for sure, on your special day of celebration there is usually food involved and lots of it. So there is no doubt most of you will meet or exceed the minimum daily nutrient servings of everything. So what the hay if you forget to take your multi vitamin this would be the day to do it. After all January 1^st is just around the corner and as we all know it is New Year resolution time. Time to make all those promises but we will  go there a little  later as we get closer.

Until then blessings and Holiday greetings to one and all and may 2010 find you with vibrent health and prosperity.

Yummy a favorite country style American favorite, along with various other versions of American breakfast’s delights. And how about that Starbucks supper coffee drink and a scone or bagel…another breakfast wonder.

So where are those suggested servings of fruits, low fat dairy or whole grains? Don’t get me wrong I love comfort food too and I am not suggesting that you should give up living a life fully alive. So what to do?

No problem for me I take along a multivitamin and a super green food tablet. I know it may sound like I am cheating the nutritional guru paradigm and yes you are right I am.  Once in a while I can have my cake or in this case biscuits and gravy and eat it too. With the wide variety of nutritional supplements available today there is no excuse for getting all the daily nutritional value you need.

So you don’t need a daily Vitamin? So that means you always have 6 to 8 servings of grains, 4 to 5 servings of vegetables, 4 to 5 servings of fruit, 2 to 3 servings of low fat dairy, and 6oz of meat, poultry or fish PER DAY? Really? And that just meets the very minimum standards for nutrition.

So you may want to rethink your option to take a multivitamin at the very minimum to supplement those missing servings. When shopping for a multivitamin look for whole food vitamins preferable organic for the best value and quality.

In the next blog we will look at those serving size and do some nutritional math that may surprise you.

Weight lifting is long been hailed for its health benefits. In recent years it has been refined to become know as “resistance” training. When proper stress is applied to the body such as load bearing or weight bearing exercises the body responses to accommodate the new stress through adaptation.

The benefits to this is increased bone density and muscle quality improves to accommodate the new demand. Cardio fitness is still important but being able to get up out of your chair and go about your daily activities takes muscle and balance skills which are only achieved be weight or resistance training.

No you don’t have to be a “body builder” or a highly conditioned athlete to achieve health and a vibrate life. Simple tools for exercising such as a re-bounder, resistance bands or light hand weights can do the magic of keeping your muscle tonality and bone density in optimal condition. Just 30 minutes a day 3 to 4 times a week is what research has shown to be all you need to keep the body tuned up.

No I am not referring to your car, I am speaking to the vehicle you call your body. Most of us are aware that we need to drink plenty of water to replenish our body’s ever present need to stay hydrated to maintain a healthy body. What most people are not aware of is our need to also consume healthy oils daily.

It is great that people are far more aware of the need to change to healthier cooking oils such as olive or grapseed oils, but did you know that consuming unheated oils on salads and vegetables along with oil from healthy fats is just as important?

Yes I used the word “fats”. The oils derived from fat sources such as fish, grass feed beef and vegetarian sources are a vital necessity for our health. These sources provide us with much needed omega 3 fatty acids, that are know to help with aiding in the treatment of heart diseases, high cholesterol, depression, anxiety, AHDH, low immunity, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, arthritis, IBD, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, eye disorders, macular degeneration and ulcers. It is helps in weight loss, pregnancy, fertility and skin care (particular for disorders such as psoriasis, acne). Adding an Omega 3 supplement can be an easy way to make sure you are maintaining a healthy dietary balance.

The best time of the day to take your vitamins is generally when it is convenient for you is a good rule to start with. The producer of the vitamin will make general recommendations based on their product research. Some of us can take say a Multi-Vitamin with or without food and not have an upset stomach problem from the intense intake of condensed nutrients.

Generally though taking vitamins with a portion of food is recommended but the key is not to combine with a “full” meal. As the body is taking in nutrients from the food the vitamin supplement may not complement the nutritional value of the meal or the high nutritional value of the food may interfere with the intake of additional nutrients. Because of this some of the nutritional value of the Multi-Vitamin or supplement may be wasted. It would be like eating a ½ pound steak and drinking a protein shake in the same meal very redundant as you can see.

Your best bet to maximize the supplement is to follow the recommended advice from the Supplement company and then adjust to your schedule just remember that less can be more when combining with food.

Healthy weight loss can be very confusing in a media driven for profit quick fix world. Don’t be taken in by the gimmicky world of profit based fads. Healthy weight loss is really a simple formula. You need to keep and gain healthy muscle and loose the excess body fat.

All you need to do is simply make better food choices and eat in moderation along with moderate exercise on a regular schedule. It really is that simple and it is a time tested healthy way to loss those unwanted extra pounds. Well a little patience and consistency is needed also but always remember if you stick with it you will reach your goals. You gained those unwanted pounds over time not over night, and it takes time to lose it. There are some very good and safe products on the market to help with appetite control and metabolism boosts, but remember there is no “magic” pill or potions they are only as good as the effort you apply with them.

Well winter has arrived and it may be a great time to rethink the protein shake mode. As snow has fallen across many parts of the country somehow a nice cold smoothie protein shake has lost its appeal from that summertime refreshing blast in the morning. Not to worry we have a delicious option for you.

Since it is time to break out the hot cereal to get a warm start on the day just drop a scoop or two of your favorite protein shake powder in the bowl along with your favorite fresh or dried fruit and “bam” you have a protein packed power house breakfast to start your day. We like to add a scoop of fresh yogurt in but the choice is yours just don’t be afraid to get creative like adding some cinnamon or vanilla flavoring, Yumm!!!

The ultimate Multi-Tasker, a Multi-Vitamin.

Everyone hears sound bites and  scientific studies surrounding a particular vitamin (nutrients) and the benefits it may have on health and longevity. It is great to understand the  positive impact specific vitamins have on improving ones health because it gives us greater awareness to not only the importance of healthy eating habits, it can also give us a better understanding  of what to eat to insure  getting the proper daily intake of nutrients.

The information unfortunately does not always give us the greater understanding of how our bodies absorb and utilize the nutrient (vitamin).  And the synergistic need to have other vitamin supplements present at the same time to have the body utilize it properly.

Synergy……A word to remember because a high quality nutrient dense Whole Food Vitamin is the answer. The best suppliers of multi-vitamins know this and there formulas take this into consideration. Some Multi-Vitamin formulas will also include herbs that support life style and age related needs. That is why a Whole Food based Multi-Vitamin should be the core nutrient supplement of choice. Multi-Vitamin “Synergy” the ultimate Multi-Tasker.