Cracking the Aging Code | Josh Mitteldorf

In Cracking the Aging Code, Josh Mitteldorf does a deep dive into the science of aging.  His research has led him to some theories that differ quite a bit from what many of us may have believed were true.  Our body is programmed to destroy itself as we age.

As a part of this discussion, Josh explains why he doesn't believe Paleo or natural eating extend our lives.  Nor does he believe that anti-oxidant therapy make us more healthy.  In fact, anti-oxidants may shorten our lives.

The four core reasons we age:

Inflammation

Inflammation is important to help us address outside threats, but when we're older, this inflammation turns on us.  Inflammation attacks us, causing arthritis, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. It is also associated with many types of cancer.

A high-carb diet is inflammatory.  Having extra bodyfat is inflammatory.  But our bodies are different and we have to experiment to find what works for us.

Immune System

The Thymus gland creates T-cells to fight viruses and bacteria.  As we age, the T-cells begin to turn on us and are linked to arthritis and macular degeneration fo the retina.

Apoptosis

This process of “cell death” is important to help the body get rid of damaged cells.  As we age, the process degrades resulting in two types of errors:  damaged cells may be missed, or healthy cells are destroyed.

Telomere Shortening

Each time a cell is divided to go on the telomeres, which are endcaps for the DNA helix shortened.  When the telomere reaches the end, the cell can no longer divide and effectively dies.

Links:

AgingAdvice.org

2 weeks to a younger brain | Dr. Gary Small

https://40plusfitnesspodcast.com/aging-well-dr-mark-williams/ ‎

Ketogenic diet for weight loss

My weight loss while on a ketogenic diet[/caption]

In this episode, I discuss how I used the ketogenic diet for weight loss.  Ketosis is a physical phenomenon, where your body adapts to using fat for energy instead of sugar. Susan, who you met on episode 142, joined me on this conversation so she can ask questions as I went.  I switched my eating to allow me to go into ketosis so I could drop some weight I'd gained over the past few months.

To get into ketosis, you lower your carbohydrates (carbs) to 20 grams or less and you increase your fat to make up the calories. You'll keep your protein moderate to ensure it doesn't spike your blood sugar.

In ketosis, your body burns the fat and produces ketones.  These ketones can be used by the brain as fuel.  In fact, most of the science on ketosis shows that the brain favors ketones.   I know I feel better when I'm in ketosis.

Concerns with Ketosis

• Ketoacidosis – This is a dangerous condition that is typically limited to type I diabetics. In this condition, your ketone level gets dangerously high and the blood sugar is also high.  This is a very rare condition and not something you'll
• Compliance – The ketogenic diet is difficult.  It is not easy to go from being a sugar burner to a fat burner.  Staying at 20 grams of carbs per day is very limiting.  Fortunately, once you're in ketosis, you may be able to ratchet up your carb intake.
• Carb withdrawal/Keto flu – During the transition, you'll likely have some fatigue, effectively feeling like you have the flu.
• Medications – If you're a diabetic and take meds to help manage your blood sugar, you should talk to your doctor.  You'll have to monitor yourself very closely.  The ketogenic diet can be an effective way to reverse diabetes.

Ketogenic Diet Tools

You should be able to feel that you're in ketosis, but there are tools to measure ketones.  To be in nutritional ketosis you will have a ketone reading of 0.5 – 7:0.  You can measure ketones three ways:

• Keto-sticks are a cost effective way to measure the ketone bodies in your urine.  However, once you get fat adapted, you won't be excreting ketones, and they will stop working.  This makes them great for showing that you're in ketosis when you first start.
• The Precision Plus with ketone strips can measure the ketones in your blood.  This is the most accurate way to determine when you're in ketosis.
• The Ketonix is a tool you can use to measure ketones in your breath.  This is a pain and mess free way to do the measurement.  I haven't seen any science to prove this tool is as accurate as the blood.

Other Considerations for the Ketogenic Diet

• Tweak your protein intake based on your exercise intensity.
• Make sure you're getting enough sodium and potassium.  With a ketogenic diet, you'll lose water weight and with that some electrolytes.
• You'll likely lose some water weight early in the ketogenic diet.
• There are extraneous sources of ketones that you can take to increase the ketones.  These can help when you need more energy.
• Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT), which is processed from coconut oil.  Because of the nature of this oil, it increased your ketone level quickly.  Just make sure you ease into using it as it can cause diarrhea.

Whether you choose to use ketosis as a way to lose weight, now you understand what it is when you hear someone talking about it.  More and more people are trying ketosis.

If you have any questions about the ketogenic diet, feel free to comment on this post.

Have a happy and healthy day!

Allan

Below are the links I mentioned in the podcast.

Keto-stix

Precision Plus with Keto Strips

Ketonix

Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore

The scoop on ketosis with Jimmy Moore

 

The hidden toxins lurking in your food | Mike Adams

In his book, Food Forensics, Mike Adams (aka the “Health Ranger”) reveals some terrible toxins that lurk in the food we eat.  Mike has dedicated himself to performing laboratory evaluation of the foods we eat and reports the results.

Lead

Lead and other heavy metals are often in the food we eat, even when it is organic.  The key to avoiding toxins like lead is to look at the country of origin.  China and India have shown to have a higher contamination of heavy metals, such as lead.  Whereas the United States, Canada, and Europe is very clean.  Mike grows much of his own and I buy most of my vegetables and meat from local farmers.

Lead tends to be stored in our bones in place calcium. It does this when proper calcium intake is not sufficient. It is critical to get calcium from plants as our bodies are not able to absorb the mineral calcium that is provided by most supplements. As we age and our bones break down (osteopenia), lead that had accumulated in our bones over our lives can release lead, damaging our kidneys.

Bisphenol A (BPA)

BPA is a chemical in our plasticware. It is an endocrine disruptor. which means it will affect your hormones.  It can cause cancer in women and feminization in men.  This disruption can be quite devastating to your body.  You should avoid plasticware whenever you can, and you should never heat food in a plastic container.

Aspartame

I had an addiction to Diet Coke.  Over the years, people kept telling me I needed to stop.  It wasn't easy, but I managed to kick that habit.

The artificial sweetener, aspartame is poison.  It distorts our natural taste preferences, causing us to eat more.  It also causes us to choose unhealthy foods and beverages.  But you can re-adjust your taste threshold with some effort.

Lifetime Detox

The good news: our bodies can clean themselves if we work to avoid the toxins and eat things that can help us defend against those we can't.  Avoid the extreme detox supplements.  They can be quite dangerous.  Consider every meal an opportunity to detox.  You are constantly in the process of rebuilding your blood and body.  If you give your body good food, you will be building yourself with better, cleaner materials.

 

Sharable Quote:

Ask yourself, how do I wish to feel and perform tomorrow? – Mike Adams

 

Links:

Food Forensics

Health Ranger

Natural News

Caught in the dorito effect | Mark Schatzker

How to shop for good food

A secret weapon in your health and fitness journey

In this episode, I reveal a secret weapon for health and fitness.

The secret weapon I’m talking about is keeping a journal or a log. It allows you to collect information about the things you do in life and gives you the opportunity to look back and understand where you were.

One of the things you need to do once you’ve started writing a journal is to express gratitude every day. This simple act puts you in a frame of mind that great things will happen. Start your day right by documenting how good your life is. If you’re having a bad day, pull out that journal to relieve yourself of stress.

Log workouts to keep track of your progress. Log the weights you used before or how far you’ve walked in 30 minutes. Logging gives you a mindset of completion and allows you to see what you’ve accomplished which helps with your persistence. You also achieve patience because you can see you’re getting better as you progress. Occasionally, I log my food, particularly if I notice I’m stalled a little bit.

Log how many hours of sleep you get. If you notice that you didn’t sleep well on the other nights, you can go back to see what was going on.

The data you get from logs is a powerful thing. Don’t shy away from keeping information that will help you become a better you. Logging lets you track your goals. Write your ultimate goal on the first page and mini goals on the next pages. Track how well you’re doing as you progress.

 

Why can’t I stop? | Dr. Bruce Odlaug

Brian Odlaug received a PhD from the University of Copenhagen in Public Health. He is knowledgeable about and conducts seminars on the topic of behavioral addiction. His new book, Why Can’t I Stop, takes a closer look at behavioral addiction.

When it comes to eating and nutrition, many people wonder if they’re actually addicted to sugar. If so, this addiction is more of an emotional and behavioral issue than simply a lack of will-power. In fact, behavioral addictions are remarkably common. They are under recognized when compared to substance addictions. Often times, there is shame and secrecy involved, and the addiction will go unnoticed and untreated. Many people will continue to function normally in their work and relationships. Over time however, their lack of presence and financial or health consequences may become evident.

So how is a food addiction diagnosed? It’s actually not a formal diagnostic set, but there are certain questions to ask and specific behaviors to look for. Typically, it’s not just the quantity of food consumed, but it involves food consumed over a longer period of time. The individual knows there are consequences to consuming the food and they have a desire to cut back, but they are unsuccessful in attempts to limit themselves. They may even give up other activities to prioritize eating. Cravings and urges are common. Those addicted to food can even become irritable or restless when they are unable to eat. Essentially, if you don’t have the ability to control your urges, you may have a problem.

So how can one overcome a food addiction? Key strategies include eating only at specific meal times, not eating alone, and removing unhealthy foods from the home. Understand your triggers and fill your time with other fun activities. Family members can also get involved by modeling healthy relationships with food, helping with cooking and controlling meals, and encouraging fun and healthy activities.

If you are struggling with a behavioral addiction, you are not alone. Though the solution may require seeing a physician and taking medication, the addiction can be addressed.

Warrior | Theresa Larsen

Movement for self-healing | Meir Schneider

Dr. Meir Schneider is the founder and head teacher of the School for Self-Healing in San Francisco. Born blind, Dr. Schneider taught himself to see and developed a program for healing and recovery for others. He is also the author of Movement for Self-Healing.

Dr. Schneider explains that everyone has to deal with aging and many will experience back problems. A back injury can be debilitating and prevent people from feeling like they can move. Though the body contains more than 600 muscles, the ones that are commonly used are overused with great intensity. This can cause the muscles to become more spastic and tense, and can lead to immobility, arthritis, and back problems. To age properly, we must become more flexible and start to use the muscles we have never used before. One reason why is because humans are connected organisms. If we are not using one part of our bodies appropriately, this will be reflected in every other part of body.

In our modern world, we sit on chairs and walk on cement. This can tighten the muscles in the hip and lower back. When the lower back can’t support the rest of the back, the neck begins to hurt and you will begin to slouch as a result. Often times, the best solution for back pain is to stand up and look in the distance. To become stronger and better as we age, we need to stretch and move frequently.

Surprisingly, emotions can play a large role in causing back problems. The connection between the body and mind is powerful. Stress and negativity can cause the muscles to be tense. A massage that incorporates movement can also be quite helpful.

The key to self-healing is finding the muscles you never knew you had, opening them up, connecting your body and mind, and relaxing your muscles. Following these steps will help you along your path to self-healing. To learn more about Dr. Meir Schneider, the School for Self-Healing, or his book Movement for Self-Healing, visit www.self-healing.org or call (415) 665-9574.

Vision for life | Dr. Meir Scheider

Understanding heart rate and exertion

When you’re first starting out with an exercise program, it’s normal to wonder what your heart rate and exertion level should be. Is your heart rate too high? You may be concerned that you might overdo it. Before beginning an exercise program, be sure to talk to your doctor. Make sure your doctor is aware of what you want to do and get his or her clearance before starting.

The two fitness modalities that are central to one’s heart rate and exertion level with exercising include cardiovascular health and endurance. Though many people think cardiovascular exercise is the key to losing weight, it’s really about building greater endurance, being active, and having a stronger heart and respiratory system to live a long, healthy life.

There are two ways to measure exertion. One is with heart rate and other is through feel. To measure your heart rate, you can opt to use a heart rate monitor. Some pieces of equipment in the gym may even have a heart rate monitor included. You can also use a wearable heart rate monitor which will collect the data. These are a great way to know when you’re getting a good workout and can be especially useful when doing high intensity interval training. To measure through feel, use a scale of one to 10.

To get a better look at these exertion zones and the corresponding heart beat levels and feel levels, visit older.fitness/zones. There you will find the formula to calculate your maximum heartrate at any point. The various activity ranges include the basic range, the fat-burning range, the aerobic range, the anaerobic range, and the maximum range. When you’re first starting out, you should not be doing any work in the maximum range more than once per week. Over time, you will get more comfortable with pushing the boundary with your heart rate and exertion levels.

 

Have you mastered the art of intensity