Category Archives for "health"
There are four main tactics to employ when trying to lose weight: eating well, movement, quality sleep, and managing stress. But if you're looking to find some incremental advantages, you can add some health and fitness biohacks. These practices/foods won't move the needle, but they may be something for you to consider as you go on your health and fitness journey.
While these health and fitness biohacks should not be used as a primary method of weight loss, they may be able to supplement the main four tactics.
There are several healthy foods you should include in your diet.
Be sure to incorporate some or all of these healthy foods into your regular diet to see a real improvement in your overall health.
As I near my 51st birthday, I have spent some time thinking about myself and my life. One of the biggest areas I have struggled with is self-inflicted stress and anxiety. I’m a perfectionist, so I’m always striving to be the best I can be.
The trouble with this mindset is that it often leads to comparison. It’s easy to look at colleagues in the industry, compare myself to how they look or what they have accomplished, and feel as though I am falling short.
What I’ve realized is that nobody is perfect. We all deal with this internal struggle. However, I have come to several realizations in determining how to prevent this negative mindset from taking over.
We are human. We all have good days and bad days. As members of the 40 Plus Fitness Community, we can support each other throughout the journey.
Dr. Elissa Epel is a renowned health psychologist and the director of University of California San Francisco’s Aging, Metabolism, and Emotion Center. She is also the co-author of a new book entitled The Telomere Effect. The Telomere Effect examines the role of telomeres in the aging process and provides information on how we can protect these telomeres and improve our quality of life.
Dr. Epel explains that all of our cells contain telomeres, which act as protectors to our genes. Over time, our telomeres are exposed to a sensitive chemical environment. This can cause telomeres to shorten, possibly leading to aging and disease. Rates of aging differ by the individual, as it based on our varying chemical makeup and lifestyles. We can slow the aging process by making positive lifestyle changes, which help to maintain or possibly extend telomere length.
One factor that can cause us to age faster is chronic stress. A threat stress response, which involves feeling that our physical self is at risk or in danger, is linked to a greater stress response with cortisol and inflammation. The key to altering this is through awareness of our stress and changing our response. Meditation helps people become observers of their thoughts. They are more equipped to be at peace and go with the flow.
Other factors within our body that can harm us include inflammation, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance. We can help to remedy these threats by exercising and eating whole, unprocessed foods and a vegetable heavy diet. The key is to make small changes that will add up over the years, making an overall difference in your cellular health and aging.
The Telomere Effect contains vital information and an action guide based on data from scientific studies. To learn more or take the Stress Response Quiz, visit http://www.amecenter.ucsf.edu/telomere-effect-book-release/.
Pete Evans is a renowned chef with a passion for healthy food. His new book, The Complete Gut Health Cookbook, includes information and recipes emphasizing a vegetarian style diet with a side of meat that works to improve one’s gut health.
In the book, Pete emphasizes a six-step approach to improving gut health. One critical step is targeting inflammation that is most often seen in people who are bloated or overweight. This inflammation is the first sign that something is wrong. To remedy this, people need get their bodies into a state where they can self-heal through eating the correct foods.
Another important aspect of enhancing gut health is improving the integrity of the gut wall. This is accomplished through removing inflammatory foods from the diet. The most common foods include grains, dairy, and legumes. Consuming foods such as bone broth and fermented vegetables can be beneficial in improving joint, digestion, and skin issues as well.
The book points out other helpful foods and related recipes. One such food is lemon juice. Lemon juice is helpful in healing the gut, especially when squeezed into a glass of warm water first thing in the morning. This can help to stimulate digestive acids and get the bile flowing. It also will not give you a false sense of energy like coffee and other sources of caffeine.
Other foods to consider in one’s daily routine include kombucha and water kefir, which contain beneficial probiotics. Pete also emphasized the importance of consuming offal, which is nutrient dense.
The Complete Gut Health Cookbook contains a variety of beneficial tips and inexpensive recipes that can improve your health. To connect with Pete Evans directly, visit peteevans.com.
Dr. John Douillard is a recognized leader in the field of natural health and the author of the new book, Eat Wheat. Though gluten-free diets are popular today, they involve significant risks, including an increased amount of mercury in one’s diet, more bad bacteria in the gut, and less killer T-cells. Dr. Douillard explains that wheat in its whole grain form actually has incredible health benefits.
Today, many try to chase their digestive problems by removing foods like wheat from their diet. Dr. Douillard explains that the issues are indicative of a greater problem; specifically, they do not have the digestive strength that they once did. To fix this, they must detoxify and reboot the lymphatic and digestive systems and avoid processed foods.
The consumption of processed fats can lead to congestion of the liver and gall bladder. Bile becomes thick and viscous. To reboot the lymphatic system, one’s bile function must be improved through becoming a better fat burner again. This can be accomplished by consuming bile-moving foods such as apples, beets, celery, and artichokes. Certain spices such as ginger and cumin can help the stomach produce acid and improve digestion. They can also help the liver produce bile and promote more pancreatic enzymes in the body. Foods containing antioxidants such as cranberries, cherries, and leafy greens are also helpful.
Dr. Douillard also points out the importance of avoiding grazing. Humans are better fat burners when they eat three quality meals per day, as the body burns fat to provide energy between meals. To connect with Dr. Douillard or to learn more about his new book, visit www.lifespa.com.
Illness is often self-inflicted through foods we shouldn't be eating. When we consume these foods, they can have a negative impact on our overall health. However, we can take incremental steps toward better health by slowly removing these foods from our diet.
Pay attention to the foods that you’re eating and how you feel. As you slowly begin eliminating some of the bad foods you shouldn't be eating, you will be sure to notice a positive difference in your health.