Achieving Total Wellness Now

People who live much longer lives than the average person eat sparingly, control their weight and remain active throughout their lives.

Most of the research on aging has centered on how to make old age more bearable.  There has been very little research done on just what causes us to age.   This is starting to change.  Of course, most of what is known from studies comes from animal research; but empirical knowledge of aging (observation) seems to show that what is true for the animal kingdom is most likely true for us.

Laboratory animals that are put on subsistence diets (just above starvation) have had their lives extended by 30%.  Human beings who eat very small amounts of food tend to live much longer than people who really enjoy feasting. 

My grandparents on both sides were never fat and ate small amounts of food only when they were hungry.  The men both lived until age 85 and the women lived until 94 and 95.  None of their children did as well. 

The factors that are now known to be important are the standards that are preached all the time.  They are:

• Weight Control- People who are thin and do not have big stomachs tend to live longer…in many cases much longer.   It is important to control your impulses so you can control your weight.
• Insulin- Insulin is what your body produces to metabolize carbohydrates…sugar.  Your ability to control your sugar intake in the form of simple carbohydrates (sweets of all kinds, pasta, rice, potatoes and breads) is critical to a long life. 
• Active Lifestyle- Couch potatoes just move from the couch to the coffin.  Get a hobby like gardening, walking…do something that gets you moving on a regular basis. 

If you need to lose weight and do not know much about nutrition then you should get on a formal diet and nutrition plan so that you get proper nutrition while losing weight.  Contact us and we will point you in the right direction.

Diet and Exercise are mutually inclusive in a healthy lifestyle.  Each is good but without the synergy and balance of both we cannot come close to maximizing our potential.

If you had to choose between a sedentary lifestyle of a consistently good diet versus an active lifestyle of vigorous exercise and a so-so diet, which would you choose?   Personally, in the past I would probably have chosen the vigorous lifestyle with a poor to mediocre diet.  It was my “addiction” to sweets that would have swayed me in that direction.

I hate to tell you all the people I know who are active with terrible diets.  I know a lot of them…or I should say that I have known a lot of them.  Many of them are now dead, mostly before age 70, some even before age 60.  A few have made it longer in spite of the odds.

On the other hand, I know plenty of people who do not exercise but eat very healthy, watch their weight and seem to be doing fine.  What most people do not notice about healthy people with good diets is that they are a lot more active than even they realize.  They feel good, have good energy and therefore are more inclined to be “on the move” than people who neither eat well or exercise.

This is not an argument in favor of our choosing between diet and exercise because what we all know we should be doing is both.  Then the benefits to us increase exponentially.  We mentioned in a recent blog that our life spans are increasing three months a year right now.  In other words, every four years we are gaining, on average, an extra year of life.

If we do not drink to excess, stop smoking, eat right and exercise we can increase our life spans by twelve (12) years over those that do not heed this advice.   People who live to 100 use 2/3 less health care than people who die at the average age of 78.

It’s definitely not all in the genes, folks.  For most of us it’s about how we choose to live our lives.  If you haven’t done so well up to now, change your outlook, then your habits and start living well.

Sincerely;

Joanne & Paul

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The sum total of our well-being resides in the ability of our immune system to fight off disease.   Strengthen and support your immune system and you will win the battle.

There are endless supplements, herbs, concoctions and medicines to help our bodies fight the daily battle against the agents of disease and death that are constantly on the attack. 

Some people think that our success or lack of success against these diseases is all preordained by the genes that we inherited from our parents.  Others feel that if we take the right combination of wonder drugs and supplements we can ward off anything.

There is some truth to the gene theory.  Genes very definitely have a marked influence on certain things happening at particular points in our lives. There are also some good supplements out there that help ward off diseases.

As we look for that wonderful “bottom line magic bullet” the fact remains that it is the strength and well-being of our immune system that determines how well we fight off disease and how long we will live a healthy life.  How do we build up our immune system?

Good living habits such as proper diet and nutrition, exercise and enough sleep help a lot.  The elimination of bad habits such as too much drinking of alcoholic beverages, smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet help a lot also. 

If your genes are not the best, and some of us do have some unfortunate pre-cursors for some diseases, then there are medicines and natural supplements available to us.  There is a natural product available in most western countries that most people know little to nothing about that when taken regularly boosts the strength of the immune system by a large factor.

If you wish to receive more information about this product, email us at this site and we will send it to you.

Sincerely;

Joanne & Paul

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A recent British study of 5,000 people measured four factors in their lives and then followed these people over a number of years.

We talk all the time about what each of us must do to increase the quality and length of his life; but rarely have we found something that actually can put a number on the length of our lives.

In a British study of 5,000 people, the subjects, both men and women, were categorized and analyzed for four (4) lifestyle factors and then observed over several years to see how these four factors played into the length of their lives.

The four factors were: alcohol consumption (men more than 3 drinks/day and women more than 2 drinks/day), steady smoking, dietary habits and level of activity (exercise).

There were many subsections to the study depending on the level determined in an individual’s analysis; but here is the basic conclusion.

People, who regularly drink too much, smoke on a consistent basis, have poor dietary habits and do little or no exercise die on average 12 years sooner than people who only drink on occasion, do not smoke, eat healthy and get 2 to 2-1/2 hours of exercise per week.

If the average life span in America is 78 and you are shortening it by up to 12 years due to your bad habits, turn your life around and start getting on the track that is going up, not the one going down.  Here is why- It is estimated that due to better information about healthy living and better medical care, the life span of the average human being is increasing approximately 3 months for every year right now. 

That means that on average we are getting another year of life every four years.  That is much better interest on your investment in healthy living than banks are giving you on your money.

Sincerely,

Joanne & Paul

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Almost everything we do in regard to the health and well-being of our minds, bodies and souls involves a process…a series of steps that we must take to get to our goal.

The birth of a new life is treated as an event; but if you ask any mother she will quickly agree that it is a process, a nine-month process.  The ending of a long life is also treated as an event but in most cases it too is a weeks or months long process.

This is true of anything worthwhile that we wish to accomplish in our lives.  It is going to take time and effort.  The problem for most of us, I think, is that we have a difficult time reconciling future time with effort.

You see, future time is indefinite and seems to stretch out to infinity; whereas past time is compressed in our memory and seems much more manageable.  Therefore, when we want to start a new “project,” or set and accomplish a new goal it is difficult, if not daunting, to calculate the amount of effort it will require to get there in an uncertain time in the future.

That is why goals must be very specific and always have timetables and deadlines so that the uncertainty of future time and effort can be calculated and managed.  Why do brides always manage to lose weight before their weddings if that is their goal?  Of course, they are unusually motivated; but they also know that they are dealing with a finite amount of time and effort.

If you know that you need to improve your health and should start a good nutrition and exercise program, then lay out your plan for a certain period of time with a goal to reach a specific weight within that period of time; then do it one day at a time.

We can help you in many ways.  Look at some of our other blogs and educate yourself on how to go about reaching your goals and download our free e-book, The Path to Wellness.

How do you eat an elephant?  You eat it one bite at a time!

Sincerely,

Joanne & Paul

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At least 10 new studies are beginning to show that saturated fat has gotten a bad “rap” for a long time.

It often seems that information on nutrition is like the weather in New England.  If you don’t like it, wait five minutes.  Now it seems that saturated fat is going to be in that category.

Over the last sixty to seventy years; doctors, nutritionists and all form of health experts have warned of the dangers of saturated fat.  We were told to limit our intake of it to less than 25% of our daily total of fat.  Butter was bad, margarine was good.  In essence, we swapped the bad saturated fat in butter and other dairy products for the even worse trans fat in margarine.

For the moment trans fat is still very bad but saturated fat is not looking so bad anymore and might move up to almost good.   What are we to believe?

It all pretty much comes down to this.  Most “experts” believed through all these past 70 years that it was fat that made you fat.  Nobody bothered to ask the bodybuilders or their trainers for their opinion.  They knew for decades that it was not the normal ingestion of fats so much as the over indulgence in carbohydrates that made you fat.

When bodybuilders train for a show they cut way back on their “carbs” in order to “get ripped.”  In non-bodybuilder terms, they stop eating carbohydrates to lose water and fat weight in order to show off their muscle striations better.  They continue to eat lots of protein and a normal sensible amount of fat.

It is a fact that in countries that eat less saturated fat there is far less heart disease and cancer.  This is probably due to more than just saturated fat; such as the people in those countries tend to be slimmer, eat a lot more vegetables in their diets and maybe are more active. 

Until this latest bit of “fat” news is more understood we advise caution.

We do not think that you should see this as a green light to eat all the beef, butter, ice cream and cheese you can.  The evidence against this type of diet is still very powerful.  Just be aware that our bodies and their physiology are quite complicated.  It is a factor of many things that decides our ultimate health.

Our favorite mantra- eat healthy, exercise, control your weight and be positive; and you are doing most of what you can to influence the quality and length of your life.

So many overweight people feel that their lives are a choice between being thin and miserable with hunger or fat and green with envy.

We have stated it here so many times before (after all, it is what we are all about) that losing weight and staying slim or “where you want to be” does not have to be a titanic struggle.  It is more about planning and due care with the right diet and nutrition plan than about suffering.  Of course, a small amount of self-discipline goes a long way too.

Remember the man we had over to dinner a couple weeks ago who had lost 25 pounds since the 1^st of January.  He called yesterday, March 2, 2010, and said that he is now down 32 pounds.  Up until the last couple of months he had been carrying around this extra weight for at least a dozen years.  He called to order another round of diet shakes, cleanser and stress supplements from us.

Before going on this diet plan he could eat most people “under the table.”  When in a nice restaurant he would sometimes order as many as 4 appetizers, plus drinks and an enormous entrée; and laugh at Joanne and me for the way we eat.  Now he tells us that he feels so much better, has more energy and has no desire to eat like that anymore.

If you are sick of being “green with envy” and are ready to make a life-changing decision, contact us. We will show you how you can still enjoy food and your life while eating much healthier.

Our weight-loss program works without a lot of pain and stress. More importantly, the results can be permanent. Every time I go up a pound or so I can pull myself right back down in a day or two; and as everyone knows who knows me, I still like and eat cookies, brownies and dark chocolate on occasion.

Joanne & Paul

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A study started in the late 1990’s by the Diabetes Prevention Program of 3,200 people who were at risk for diabetes dramatically demonstrated the positive effect of exercise on delaying the onset of diabetes.

If you are overweight or obese and have a fasting blood sugar level of 95 mg/dL you are at risk of acquiring Type 2 diabetes, which is a fasting blood sugar level of 126 mg/dL or higher.

The people were divided into three groups.

1. The people in the intensive lifestyle group were encouraged to lose at least 7% of their body weight and to exercise for at least 2 ½ hours per week.
2. The drug group was given an oral diabetes drug twice a day.
3. The placebo group was given lookalike but inactive pills.

The study was stopped in 2001, a year earlier than planned because the results were so clear.  The risk of diabetes was 58% lower in the intensive lifestyle group than in the placebo.  The oral diabetes drug cut the risk by 31% versus the placebo group.

A follow-up study over the next six years showed that the people from the original intensive lifestyle group maintained their lower risk of diabetes from the original drug and placebo group.

How much proof do you want?  Lose that excess weight and get moving. 

{Note: This article was taken from the “Nutrition Action Health Letter” published by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.}

Sincerely!

Joanne & Paul

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Everyone has cancer cells in his body; but a strong immune system will prevent the cancer cells from growing and forming into tumors.  At present, cancer cells are undetectable until they have multiplied to a few billion cells. 

A diagnosis of cancer means that a person has multiple nutritional deficiencies which can be caused by diet, lifestyle, environment and/or genetics.   

Cancer has been treated for decades in the same way.  It is usually a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy; but can also involve surgery.  All three treatments are unpleasant to say the least and often just temporarily successful.   They also destroy lots of good cells along with the cancer cells and leave a residue that builds up toxins in the already compromised body so that the immune system is further weakened.

The alternative treatment being advised today is to:

• Get rid of the nutritional deficiencies by changing the diet and adding supplements.
• Starve the cancer cells of the foods that they need to grow on.  Such things as sugar, milk, table salt, caffeinated drinks and foods, distilled water and alcohol.
• Substitute small amounts of honey or molasses for sugar, sea salt for table salt, eliminate the milk completely for its mucous causing properties; and substitute green tea and alkaline water for beverages.
• Substitute fish and poultry for red meats.  Like so many other things, the red meats have lots of bad things including parasites, antibiotics and hormones; and cause the body to be acidic.
• Eat lots of vegetables, especially raw vegetables, and fresh fruits along with nuts, seeds and whole grains.
• Do exercise that causes you to do deep breathing.  Deep breathing will bring oxygen quickly to the cellular level.  Cancer cells cannot live in an oxygenated state.
• Alkalinize your water.  Most of the water we drink today is acidic for a number of reasons and not helping us maintain our body’s alkalinity. 

In our Blog 41 we speak of the importance of ridding the body of toxins and maintaining it in an alkaline state.  When we are able to do both of these things our bodies will begin to once again perform as the highly tuned, magnificent systems they were designed to be.

Here we are again providing you with the links that you need to find out more about good nutrition, cellular cleansing and alkaline water.

Sincerely,

Joanne & Paul

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Cancer is a complex and hard to understand group of diseases that continues to elude simple solutions and treatments.  However, there is growing evidence that there are common factors to all diseases, including cancer, that at least point to possible preventive treatments.

Common to our present day understanding of diseases such as cancer are the roles that diet, exercise, toxins in our environment and the acidity/alkalinity of our body play in either promoting these diseases or preventing them.

In many of our blogs that are posted here on this site and available to you we have discussed the roles of these factors.  Recently, we talked about the mounting body of evidence regarding toxins in our environment and their effect on the huge rise in the incidence of breast cancer.  That diet and exercise have an enormous effect on our health and well-being is at this point in time beyond dispute.  Here is some information on alkalinity.

The body’s natural state of well-being is to be slightly alkaline…a PH of about 7.365; and the body works hard to maintain that state.  However, many of the things we eat like meats, high sugar foods, dairy, coffee and alcohol along with toxins in our environment can overwhelm the body’s ability to neutralize the resulting acid ash left by these substances. 

An even larger problem is that much of the water we drink is acidic because of processing and the environment; and our body needs lots of water on a daily basis.

The bottom line is that an acid state leads to inflammation and promotion of disease.  What should we do?  Here is what we suggest.

Use a cellular cleanser on a daily basis to rid yourself of toxins; and turn acidic water into alkaline water with an alkalized concentrate that you just add to the water. 

Sincerely,

Joanne & Paul

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