HEALTHY BYTES - JANUARY 2004
LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR A HEALTHY NEW YEAR
At this time of year many of us have made decisions to change our lifestyles for the better. We do it because the new year gives us hope and we feel a sense of renewal and rebirth. Many of us choose to�
� Lose weight
� Exercise more
� Eat healthier
� Stop getting stressed all the time
� Be more energetic
� Live life to its fullest
� Be a better friend or family member
� Earn more money
� Get a better job
Unfortunately, most of our so-called �resolutions� fade faster than the courage the champagne gave us to declare it. But there�s one difference this year � you are not alone. Ideal Health is dedicated to help you make your lifestyle resolutions come true.
Let�s start with the most basic step � laying a strong foundation. In other words, let�s get your body up to the challenge. Ideal Health�s Custom Essentials is a scientifically designed individualized nutritional supplement best on the latest research in the areas of metabolic profiling and biochemical individuality. Each formulation is determined by analysis of distinct individual information including age, gender, personal lab test results and questionnaire answers. This has made Custom Essentials the first and most complete customized nutritional supplement.
Give you body the foundation/fuel it needs. Avoid the �health store� hassles, confusion, suspect product quality and dangers of over and under supplementation. Let the experts at Ideal Health do the research for you.
For more about current offers and/or to learn more about Ideal Health�s full-line of nutritional support and supplement products, please contact Mary Warner at 913-541-1202, by e-mail [email protected] or visit my web site at www.bewellandprosper.net
Also included in this special report is an important article (below) recently published in Global Health Report that I strongly encourage you to read concerning �The Top Ten Healthy Do's and Don'ts for 2004.�
Ideal Health provides individuals with customized solutions to their health and nutritional challenges through a full-line of U.S.P. grade nutritional support and supplement products.
Dr. Meg Jordan's Global Health Report: The Top Ten Do's and Don'ts for 2004
Ever feel like the daily barrage of health research and breakthroughs is too much to follow? For starters, don't try to adjust your diet with every new headline. You'll be discarding foods before they're opened. For example, people were told to avoid the palm and coconut oils and stick to canola oil. Then it seems palm and coconut were redeemed, and canola was on the outs. Last year, olive oil was emulated as the stand-alone champion of healthy oils--the only one to have in your kitchen, since nobody has figured out how to cook with omega-3 fish oils yet. But now that butter is being redeemed--butter with high conjugated lineoleic acid (CLA) content, that is--you can expect a rash of gourmet flavored butters to grace your grocer's shelves next year. So if things like butter are in, what's next? Are you confused yet?
Looking over the last decade of nutritional research, I was able to synthesize the best and brightest thinking into 10 top health and medical do's and don'ts for 2004.
1. Do take nutritional supplements. More research points to the therapeutic levels of a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals as a good preventive measure for chronic disease. From what we know about tocopherols (the Vitamin E category of vitamins) it's bordering on malpractice for doctors to not recommend them for lowering heart disease risk. What's more, during this 21st century, the world will continue to mark rapid changes in the soil, water, and air, the way we grow and process food, and the amount of stress with which we live. Depletion of important nutrients in the soil, the worldwide accumulation of industrial chemicals and pollutants in the food supply and in our bodies, and the lack of natural enzymes for the proper assimilation of nutrients are compelling reasons to protect yourself with a superior formulation of antioxidants, nutrients, fatty acids, and phytonutrients. Choose brands that offer complete, balanced, and targeted nutrition for your age and gender.
2.Do add extra fiber to your diet. Not only are we a fast food nation, we are a sludge-toxic one. Food with fiber plugs up the system in more ways than one. Fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains can help eliminate the accumulation of toxins in the intestinal tract and circulatory system. Populations with a higher fiber intake have lower cancer and heart disease rates. Fiber also helps regulate glucose utilization, aid digestion and elimination, and lowers cholesterol levels. Dieters get an assist from fiber as it signals the brain to eat less because a feeling of fullness is registered.
3. DO eat more alkaline-producing foods and less acid-producers. Adjusting the alkalinity/acidity of your circulatory and digestive systems is a branch of natural medicine that many naturopathic doctors and holistic physicians have known about for a while. This knowledge is making its way into more conventional medical conferences for the first time. Generally every food we eat has some chemical reaction in your stomach and intestines which tends to either result in a more acidic or more alkaline environment. If you suffer from chronic heartburn or indigestion, you may find remarkable relief once you start to alkalinize your diet. That means more fruits and vegetables, less refined flours, less meat and sugar.
4. Do move every day. Include at least 30 minutes of interval training aerobics a day and strength train 2-3 times per week.
5. DO reduce inflammation through diet, nutritional supplements, herbs and when necessary, medication. Like a good detective story, nutrition researchers are slowly picking up the cues left behind by inflammatory conditions. It seems a chronic low level of inflammation in the arteries, digestive system, throughout the cells and organs is the foundation of serious disorders down the line. They are discovering that these clues are on a trail to the major chronic diseases. This even includes the inflammation that starts in your mouth. Do regular preventive dental and periodontal care and maintenance.
6. DO reduce the amount of sugar, refined carbs and unhealthy trans and saturated fats in your diet. There is an undeniable accumulation of 40 years of research now that states eating too much of these foods is the unhealthiest thing you can do. I like a simple rule: cut out the white (white sugar, white rice, white bread, etc.) and Eat foods low on the glycemic index so that your blood sugar and insulin levels are stable.
7. DON'T be sleep deprived. Get enough rest. In this fast-paced world, it is easier than ever for your body to become overworked and sleep-deprived. We're learning that sheer exhaustion is also at the basis of many conditions that we never associated it with before, such as, diabetes and obesity. Not only do you eat more to boost energy levels when you're tired, but a hormone (leptin) which regulates appetite is thrown off. Establish a nighttime ritual. Take a lavender scented bath, play soothing music or practice visualization to put you in a calm, relaxed state for non-interrupted, peaceful rest.
8.DON'T overeat. Over two decades of research point to the undeniable fact that mildly restricting calories, or slightly under-eating, is associated with greater longevity in both humans and animals. The majority of those extra calories are converted to fat storage if you have taken in a sufficient number throughout the day to satisfy energy requirements. Most people need a little help in their efforts to curtail overeating. Some are finding it with homeopathic products with human growth hormone stimulators. They don't work for everybody, but many find a higher lean muscle mass and even improved bone density.
9. DON'T be ignorant of your personal type. Get to know your own physical and biochemical individuality. What foods don't agree with you? What time of day do you have most energy? What kind of diet aggravates your feelings of depression, mood swings, or fatigue? The evidence is mounting so fast, it's getting harder for me to justify one type of diet recommendations for people across the board. Just as the ancient healing systems of Ayurvedic medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine have shown that our metabolic constitutions are divided accordingto four or five elements, making up various types, our own Western science is beginning to decipher quite a stockpile of anecdotal and scientific findings about biochemical individuality. Our individual health and illness stories are written in our constitutional types. Paying attention to our own bodies can make a tremendous difference in our long-term health.
10. DON'T over-medicalize your health or condition. From the simple advice, such as, don't overuse antacids on a regular basis, to the riskier, more complicated treatments and elective surgeries, it's been proven time and again that one of the greater risks to your health is over-utilization of health care. Your chances for infection, tragic consequences, or troubling side effects rises in proportion to multiple hospitalizations and over-treatment of symptoms.
Whether or not you agree with these top ten, the one point that is indisputable among medical experts is that it's far better to prevent health problems than to deal with them once they've started. Make 2004 your Year of Wellness. You're bound to enjoy many happy re-runs.