Monthly Archives: January 2012

Detoxifying By Eating Less

 

I was reading an article today about how you can stop, or at least slow down the aging process by taking a diet supplement that has a natural substance called resveratrol. Resveratrol is also a powerful antioxidant and provides a vast array of cardiovascular benefits. This substance is famous for giving red wine its health benefits, which are numerous. Resveratrol has the unique ability to mimic the positive effects of a low calorie diet, even for people who are not curbing their food intake.

From the moment we are born, we begin to age. It is a natural fact of life. For our first twenty to thirty years we seem to be in a hurry to reach this age. I know I was. In fact, when in high school before I was old enough to have a drivers license, I felt like I was stuck in that “In-Between” age, the one where you think you are too old for a bicycle, but too young for a car. Kinda the story of my life.

As we age our bodies start to show the effects of our life-style. If you are prone to extreme physical activity when you are in your twenties, for example, when you reach the mid forties and beyond, you experience physical ailments, like annoying aches and pains, lower energy levels, weight gain, arthritis. Then when you begin to reach old age, your mental alertness, memory loss, lower physical vitality, etc, begin to take their toll and age you excessively fast.

Several years ago scientists were baffled and amazed by discovering that by reducing your calorie intake and eating proper, nutritious foods, that you can actually add years to your life – by as much as ten years! This concept, known as “caloric restriction”, miraculously mitigates the effects of the aging process. Your body was created by GOD and in your body is a built-in survival mode that is activated when it is short on calories. When this happens, the aging process actually slows down! It is like your body goes into a hibernation state.

Do you need more evidence? Walter Breuning, the oldest man ever recorded who passed away recently, told the USA Today that the reason for his enduring health was that he ate only two small meals a day for much of his life. Some of the experts on health have come to the conclusion that this “calorie restriction” played the biggest role in his longevity. It is like his genes were set into a slow-motion in aging.

The thought of adding years to our life may sound very intriguing and exciting, the thought of reducing our eating intake does not, though. It is hard enough to diet for a short time, surely impossible to diet for years, right? Also research has found that diets alone do not work on reducing weight and maintaining that fit and firm body we use to be proud of in the day.

Diets do not work because we are creatures of habit. Simply put, we eat what we like, and don’t eat what we don’t like. If you are required to eat foods that you don’t like in order to follow a particular diet plan, it will be impossible to adhere to this diet for any length of time. Consequently, any weight loss you recorded from the diet will eventually come back, after you have quit the diet.

For any diet or healthier eating habits to make a difference in your life they must be strictly adhered to by changing your life-style. The new eating habit must be as natural to you as brushing your teeth. Losing the toxins your body ingests on a daily basis is a vital part in maintaining a healthier body. Controlling the toxins with a natural diet of nutritious foods will stop the compounding effects these toxins do to your body. But how can you reduce your calorie intake if your stomach is always growling because it is empty?

 

Tricking your Body by Eating Less

According to experts, supplementing your diet with resveratrol can actually slow aging and increase lifespan by up to 70%! What this unique substance does is to trick your stomach into thinking it is full, which curbs you from over eating. By stopping, or controlling this cycle, you effectively do several things that benefit you and your body. First, you reduce the calorie intake, thus reducing the amount of calories that don’t get burned up as fuel and add to your weight. Second, you reduce these toxins from building up in your digestive tract, which would normally decrease your body’s ability to absorb the nutrients from the food you eat.

The big Pharmaceutical companies already know this. Since resveratrol is a natural substance, they can’t patent it and reap enormous profits. In fact, one drug company has already spent over $700 million to create a synthetic version of resveratrol so they can sell it as a drug that costs many more times what natural resveratrol does.

But this is your lucky day, my friend. You can already find this natural “fountain of youth” supplement today and not wait on the synthetic version that the big Pharmaceutical companies will produce soon. You can start to benefit from its miraculous life-extending properties.

If you take this substance in the correct amounts on a daily basis, and the right type, you can not only feel your body revitalized, but you will aid your body in detoxifying itself for the long term. The benefits are many. Adding years to your life is no small feat. But helping you maintain a healthier body will give you the vitality that your longer life span will require. Because there is no point in living longer if you can not enjoy life.

BUT BEWARE! As excited as I am to have learned this, there is actually a real “fountain of youth” available, but there are also fakes and junk supplements flooding the market. Remember earlier I said take the “right type” and in the “right amounts?” Most of the Internet ads are for junk – “anti-aging miracle” resveratrol pills. If you research these products, you will find what I have found, that they are all grossly inferior and contain very low amounts of true resveratrol.

The key to getting maximum benefits is to take a supplement that most closely matches what was used in the actual research. You will need to find a supplement that has these unique ingredients:

  • 400 mg of Pure, Standardized Trans-Resveratrol: this is like consuming 200 glasses of red wine – without the negative effects of the alcohol. The “trans” form of resveratrol is superior to all other forms and is the most natural and potent.
  • 100 mg of Red Wine Extract: This extract is known to contain a wide array of polyphenols that enhance the effectiveness of resveratrol.

So in conclusion about slowing down the aging process, and detoxifying your body, there is hope for us all. I feel that a product or supplement that you can consume that aids your body in rectifying your over eating, will enhance your ability in controlling weight gain. By reducing the toxins we consume by eating less, losing weight will become a natural by-product of our new enhanced diet plan. If we can then add years onto our lifespan, then even better!

 

 

 

If You’re Already Overweight

How You Can Protect Yourself Even if You’re Already Overweight

     Obesity is one of the most devastating conditions in the world today, especially here in America. In addition to diabetes and heart disease, obesity is also associated with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as arthritis and hormone imbalances.

Of the main symptom that all these conditions have in common is chronic inflammation. Obesity has been linked to trigger systematic inflammation due to adipose fat. Studies have been shown that white adipose fat actually operates like an endocrine organ. This fat tissue actually secretes hormones that more times than not causes more inflammation. Detoxifying your body will stop this build up of toxins and reduce the amount of inflammation, and consequently, shrink this adipose fat layer.

Fortunately for us fruits and vegetables help to offset chronic inflammation and reduce your risk for diseases such as heart disease and cancer. It has also been found that high intakes of these certain fruits and vegetables help you lose weight and keep it off, only when they replace the high-glycemic foods that you normally eat everyday.

So the first question you may have is can fruits and vegetables actually offset the dangers of obesity in someone like me who is already overweight? Can a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduce the chronic inflammation often seen in obesity?

FYI, a study has been conducted in Korea where researchers asked 22 overweight women to eat two different diets for two weeks each. In this study proof was found that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables actually had miraculous results.

For the first week, they ate a high fruit and vegetable diet that consisted of six servings of fruit and six servings of vegetables every day for two weeks. Then these “testers” were given a two week break and allowed to consume their regular (normal) diet. Then they ate a low fruit and vegetable diet that consisted of just one serving of fruit and one serving of vegetable every day for two weeks. These “testers” were then given a dietary fiber powder to compensate for the fiber they would have gotten with the higher fruit and veggie intake.

The researchers drew blood before and after each given test to monitor a number of biomarkers, chiefly these that follow:

  • Total antioxidant capacity
  • Interleukin-6 (inflammation marker)
  • C-reactive protein (inflammation marker)
  • Leptin (hormone that regulates hunger and appetite)
  • Adiponectin (hormone that helps regulate glucose)
  • Lutein/zeaxanthin (antioxidants)
  • Lycopene (antioxidant)
  • Beta-carotene (antioxidant)

 

It was shown that the diet high in fruits and vegetables had remarkable higher levels of the antioxidants, as well as total antioxidant capacity. What is more interesting is that researchers also found that adiponectin levels were significantly lower after the low fruit and vegetable diet as compared to baseline. This is bad, however, because it indicates poor glucose regulation. Similarly, C-reactive protein levels increased in this diet, indicating a greater degree of inflammation.

The research also found that interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels were all reduced. That is good news. There was not any difference in the levels of leptin, since these test people were also given the fiber dietary powder that raises leptin levels, thus helping to control your appetite.

In conclusion of this research the researchers found that “Eating a lot of fruits and veggies can positively affect oxidative and inflammation changes that normally occur in overweight or obese people.”

New Year Resolution

What a wonderful goal for you to set yourself this New Year. Add, or replace your normal diet of toxin-based foods with more fruits and vegetables. Six servings of each probably does not sound that appetizing, but as an example, below is a menu that will surely help you not only detoxify your body, but ramp-up your metabolic rate and help you lose weight:

For Breakfast

  • (2 fruits and 2 vegetables) – Scrambled eggs with 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped peppers and 1 cup spinach. 1 cup raspberries and 1/2 cup blueberries.
  • Snack – one fruit – try 1 orange or apple with 1 ounce almonds

 

Lunch

  • (2 vegetables and 1 fruit) – 1 cup romaine lettuce and 1 cup Bibb lettuce; 4 ounces grilled chicken; 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
  • Snack – (1 vegetable and 1 fruit) – 1/2 cup carrot sticks, or 1/2 cup celery sticks, and 1 cup cherry tomatoes (remember, tomatoes are a fruit), or 1/4 cup nuts, like almonds

 

Dinner

  • (1 vegetable and 1/2 fruit) –  4-6 ounces of grilled salmon with mango salsa (1/2 cup diced mango mixed with chopped scallions, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar).
  • 1 cup steamed broccoli, or 1/2 cup brown rice.

 

Dessert

  • 1 baked apple topped with cinnamon.

 

This is only a suggested menu that will help you in detoxifying your body with the proper amounts of nutrients. By reducing the amount of toxins that are present in your usual menu and replacing them with nutritious foods high in vitamins and antioxidants, you shrink the adipose fat that is secreting hormones that cause inflammation. With your inflammation reduced, you will notice a change in your weight and the way you feel.

For more information on what foods to add to your daily intake and what particular nutrient each food supplies, see my other pages on this website.