The cosmetics industry will always tell you their products help you put your best face forward. But Dr. Debi Luftman, a Beverly Hills dermatologist and co-author of The Beauty Prescription (McGraw-Hill), says the hype behind certain skin-care products is just that.
Some of the products trotted out as part of a proper skincare regimen can actually do irreversible damage to your face.
These are the skincare products you should never, ever use -- The Four Don’ts for Your Face:
1. Avoid Toners
“Toners are primarily made of alcohol, which strips natural oils and dries up your skin,” notes Luftman. By excessively dehydrating the skin, they can make the appearance of fine lines more apparent in the long run, as well as making your skin look dull, even irritate it.
A good alternative to toners are glycolic lotions. These exfoliate dead skin, improve the appearance of fine lines and keep moisture locked in the skin.
2. Avoid Blackhead Strips
“These are usually made of adhesive tape – almost like a carpet tape,” says Luftman. Nobody should use carpet tape on their face. They have the potential of causing micro tears in the skin, and they can also break capillaries and blood vessels.
The alternative would be retinol gels or creams, which naturally help remove sebum and blackheads, and help reduce the appearance of enlarged pores.
3. Ditch the Scrubs
“Many scrubs have large non spherical particles – some products even have ingredients like apricot pits,” Luftman notes.
These can cause microscopic fissures and tears in the skin which increase over time. They can also cause redness and broken blood vessels.
A safe alternative is fine home microdermabrasion creams.
Used once or twice a week they give a nice glow to the skin, exfoliating but not harmful.
4. Avoid Heavily Oilated Moisturizers
“Moisturizers saturated with mineral oils can case acne to form,” cautions Luftman. “Even dry skinned individuals can end up developing milia - mini white heads.”
The alternative is to look for creams with hydrating non-oil ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid, which works like a sponge incorporating 1,000 times its own weight in water into the skin.
Luftman’s final bit of advice? It’s the ingredient list that is important.
“When you’re buying beauty products and cosmetics, check the ingredients like you check the labels of your food,” she says.
Check out this usefull link on beauty secrets!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
How To Get Your Family To Eat Healthier
I have two young children. One is 11 and will eat -- or at least try -- just about any food. The other is 9. She subsists on a diet of chicken nuggets, fries, cheese sandwiches, grilled steak and peanut butter toast. Oh, and ketchup... lots and lots of ketchup.
I'll admit here have been times when my youngest has nearly driven her mom and dad over the edge. In fact, I harbor one shameful memory of a desperate time when we tried to force our daughter to simply try a bite of a new food.
I still shake my head at the thought of that moment.
But now I have a new friend and a new approach. Meet Tamara Follett, author of The Stay-Full Diet, and check out her advice on How To Get Your Family To Eat Healthier... Without Badgering or Hunger Strikes!
Special for Diet.com
by Tamara Follett
Getting your family to eat better doesn’t have to involve hog-tying and force-feeding. Mercifully, most of the hysteria and tearful threats can be avoided entirely by following these 5 simple steps.
As we hear almost daily on the news, even if your family isn’t overweight, there are significant long-term health benefits to eating better, (not the least of which is living longer!).
And even if you have a family of junk-food addicts, you can –with a little dedication — transition your family’s palate into a healthier arena. It’s just that the transition to a new way of eating for junk-foodies will have to be VERY subtle.
Once you’ve decided to improve your family’s nutritional intake, the objectives are to introduce more vegetables into your family’s diet, (because you can never have enough vegetables!), reduce fats (for obvious reasons!) and add fiber (which leaves you with a full feeling longer, and has numerous health and digestive benefits).
Quick tips to get you headed in the right direction:
1. Start by adding gradually-increasing amounts of vegetables to your casseroles, stews and meat dishes. The idea is to avoid the inevitable resistance by sneaking the good food into your meals.
Use more rich heavy sauces that can successfully hide the fact that the veggies outweigh the meats by a considerable margin. For example, low-calorie Szechwan Stir-Fry Sauce or Jamaican Jerk Sauce will overwhelm the taste of the veggies. (But read labels! Many sauces contain too much fat, and you can usually make the same sauce in minutes at home, with half the fat!)
Add as much flavor and spice as your family can tolerate, and they’ll never notice the meat proportions are shrinking. (My own observation is that the more flavorful the food, the more filling it is. Eat a small bowl of vegetable curry, and see if you aren’t just as full and satisfied as if you had eaten a plain boring chicken breast!)
2. To increase your family’s fiber intake, stock up on a variety of whole grain cereals your family likes. Cereal makes a healthy filling snack for kids at any time of the day or night, so get away from the cereal-is-only-for-breakfast mindset. Have a wide selection available for them to choose from, to keep cereal from becoming boring.
Add the merriment factor for the kids by letting them mix their own “customized” cereal from the array of cereals, sliced fresh fruit, and dried cranberries or chopped dates you have laid out. They’ll have fun mixing their own and trying everyone else’s combinations to see which one is best!
In addition, there are thousands of high-fiber, low-fat recipes out there using breakfast cereal as a base, including some fabulous dessert recipes! Your family will never guess it is good for them!
3. Follow up each meal with a rich fruit-based dessert, and the bowl of ice cream in front of the TV every night won’t be missed. Fresh fruit crumbles, peach and yogurt parfaits, upside-down Pineapple Cake made with pancake mix. Next to these, plain old ice cream or candy will seem boring.
4. Make snack foods, instead of buying them! With homemade snacks, you can control what goes into them. And there are entire cookbooks containing nothing but quick-and-healthy snacks that will convert even the most staunch junk food addict, because homemade snacks are heads and tails over store-bought!
5. Challenge yourself by cooking meat for one meal, but use the meat over three meals. You have one chicken? Cook it, but make it last three meals with casseroles and pasta dishes that don’t need much meat. You’ll cut down on calories, AND on your food bill!
You will note that the above tips require pre-planning and more prep time, but honestly, by the time you and the kids make it down to McDonalds, you could have made something at home. Home cooking doesn’t have to equate to time-consuming!
Plan meals for the whole week ahead and do all your grocery shopping at once. If multiple planned recipes require the same chopped vegetable, chop all you’ll need for the whole week and store in a plastic bag. This will cut down on prep time for you, during the week.
Follow these tips, don’t rush things, and the transition to healthier eating will be relatively painless. Once a week, cook your family’s favorite meal, and they’ll likely never notice that both you and they are eating healthier!
Bon appétit!
Check out this useful beauty secrets link!
I'll admit here have been times when my youngest has nearly driven her mom and dad over the edge. In fact, I harbor one shameful memory of a desperate time when we tried to force our daughter to simply try a bite of a new food.
I still shake my head at the thought of that moment.
But now I have a new friend and a new approach. Meet Tamara Follett, author of The Stay-Full Diet, and check out her advice on How To Get Your Family To Eat Healthier... Without Badgering or Hunger Strikes!
Special for Diet.com
by Tamara Follett
Getting your family to eat better doesn’t have to involve hog-tying and force-feeding. Mercifully, most of the hysteria and tearful threats can be avoided entirely by following these 5 simple steps.
As we hear almost daily on the news, even if your family isn’t overweight, there are significant long-term health benefits to eating better, (not the least of which is living longer!).
And even if you have a family of junk-food addicts, you can –with a little dedication — transition your family’s palate into a healthier arena. It’s just that the transition to a new way of eating for junk-foodies will have to be VERY subtle.
Once you’ve decided to improve your family’s nutritional intake, the objectives are to introduce more vegetables into your family’s diet, (because you can never have enough vegetables!), reduce fats (for obvious reasons!) and add fiber (which leaves you with a full feeling longer, and has numerous health and digestive benefits).
Quick tips to get you headed in the right direction:
1. Start by adding gradually-increasing amounts of vegetables to your casseroles, stews and meat dishes. The idea is to avoid the inevitable resistance by sneaking the good food into your meals.
Use more rich heavy sauces that can successfully hide the fact that the veggies outweigh the meats by a considerable margin. For example, low-calorie Szechwan Stir-Fry Sauce or Jamaican Jerk Sauce will overwhelm the taste of the veggies. (But read labels! Many sauces contain too much fat, and you can usually make the same sauce in minutes at home, with half the fat!)
Add as much flavor and spice as your family can tolerate, and they’ll never notice the meat proportions are shrinking. (My own observation is that the more flavorful the food, the more filling it is. Eat a small bowl of vegetable curry, and see if you aren’t just as full and satisfied as if you had eaten a plain boring chicken breast!)
2. To increase your family’s fiber intake, stock up on a variety of whole grain cereals your family likes. Cereal makes a healthy filling snack for kids at any time of the day or night, so get away from the cereal-is-only-for-breakfast mindset. Have a wide selection available for them to choose from, to keep cereal from becoming boring.
Add the merriment factor for the kids by letting them mix their own “customized” cereal from the array of cereals, sliced fresh fruit, and dried cranberries or chopped dates you have laid out. They’ll have fun mixing their own and trying everyone else’s combinations to see which one is best!
In addition, there are thousands of high-fiber, low-fat recipes out there using breakfast cereal as a base, including some fabulous dessert recipes! Your family will never guess it is good for them!
3. Follow up each meal with a rich fruit-based dessert, and the bowl of ice cream in front of the TV every night won’t be missed. Fresh fruit crumbles, peach and yogurt parfaits, upside-down Pineapple Cake made with pancake mix. Next to these, plain old ice cream or candy will seem boring.
4. Make snack foods, instead of buying them! With homemade snacks, you can control what goes into them. And there are entire cookbooks containing nothing but quick-and-healthy snacks that will convert even the most staunch junk food addict, because homemade snacks are heads and tails over store-bought!
5. Challenge yourself by cooking meat for one meal, but use the meat over three meals. You have one chicken? Cook it, but make it last three meals with casseroles and pasta dishes that don’t need much meat. You’ll cut down on calories, AND on your food bill!
You will note that the above tips require pre-planning and more prep time, but honestly, by the time you and the kids make it down to McDonalds, you could have made something at home. Home cooking doesn’t have to equate to time-consuming!
Plan meals for the whole week ahead and do all your grocery shopping at once. If multiple planned recipes require the same chopped vegetable, chop all you’ll need for the whole week and store in a plastic bag. This will cut down on prep time for you, during the week.
Follow these tips, don’t rush things, and the transition to healthier eating will be relatively painless. Once a week, cook your family’s favorite meal, and they’ll likely never notice that both you and they are eating healthier!
Bon appétit!
Check out this useful beauty secrets link!
25 Super Anti ageing Foods!
Who doesn't want fewer colds, softer skin or youthful vitality? Frances Sheridan Goulart, author of the ever-popular Super Healing Foods (McGraw-Hill), now brings you a program for the 25 foods that strengthen the body's six immune centers and help heal and reverse the most common ailments.
Super Immunity Foods: A Complete Program to Boost Wellness, Speed Recovery, and Keep Your Body Strong (McGraw-Hill) focuses on the top 25 foods and provides a simple plan that you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle.
With delicious recipes and complete menus, the newer, healthier you is just within reach. Ready to achieve optimal health with the top 25 immunity-boosting foods?
Incorporate these 25 superfoods into your daily diet and you'll build immunity that beats disease and slows down aging while increasing your energy.
The 25 Super Immunity Foods
Apples
Berries
Broccoli
Carrots
Citrus Fruits
Dark Leafy Greens
Green Food Powders
Figs and Dates
Garlic
Flaxseed
Legumes
Oats
Olives
Herbs and Spices
Mushrooms
Potatoes
Sea Vegetables
Squash
Tomatoes
Soy Foods
Nuts and Seeds
Whole Grains
Yogurt
"You can cover this list of foods over a period of time," Goulart says. "You don't have to try to incorporate all 25 into your diet at one time.
"I always try to encourage my clients to eat a wider variety of foods. We tend to fall into a habit of eating the same foods. I urge everyone to try new foods."
OK, makes sense to me, Frances. But what about... gulp!... sea veggies?!
"Sea veggies are so rich in nutrients that you only need a small amount," Goulart notes. "You don't have to track down the actual sea veggies.
"Instead, you can find little shakers of granulated sea veggies and use it as a substitute for pepper when dining."
The afflictions your new diet will combat
Acne and Other Skin Disorders
Arthritis
Allergies
The Common Cold
Depression
Diabetes
Headaches
Cancer
Heart Disease
Insomnia
Indigestion
Osteoporosis
Vision Disorders
"Soon after you start on my eating plan you'll feel more energy and find yourself clear headed," Goulart says. "The 25 super immunity foods help with your cravings for sugar so a nice side effect is weight loss."
Goulart says a good juicer makes healthy eating a breeze. You can start your day with a nice glass of fruit or veggie juice.
"It's a better eye-opener than coffee," she promises.
Chew on these food facts from Frances
- Dicing fruit into smaller pieces keeps oxidation to a minimum and preserves vitamin C.
- Cooked broccoli is higher in the antioxidants called carotenes, but raw broccoli is higher in vitamin C.
- Apple peels are rich in a compound that helps to halt the growth of cancer cells.
- Orange and tangerine rinds are a good source of probiotics for digestive health.
Check out this beauty secrets link!
Super Immunity Foods: A Complete Program to Boost Wellness, Speed Recovery, and Keep Your Body Strong (McGraw-Hill) focuses on the top 25 foods and provides a simple plan that you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle.
With delicious recipes and complete menus, the newer, healthier you is just within reach. Ready to achieve optimal health with the top 25 immunity-boosting foods?
Incorporate these 25 superfoods into your daily diet and you'll build immunity that beats disease and slows down aging while increasing your energy.
The 25 Super Immunity Foods
Apples
Berries
Broccoli
Carrots
Citrus Fruits
Dark Leafy Greens
Green Food Powders
Figs and Dates
Garlic
Flaxseed
Legumes
Oats
Olives
Herbs and Spices
Mushrooms
Potatoes
Sea Vegetables
Squash
Tomatoes
Soy Foods
Nuts and Seeds
Whole Grains
Yogurt
"You can cover this list of foods over a period of time," Goulart says. "You don't have to try to incorporate all 25 into your diet at one time.
"I always try to encourage my clients to eat a wider variety of foods. We tend to fall into a habit of eating the same foods. I urge everyone to try new foods."
OK, makes sense to me, Frances. But what about... gulp!... sea veggies?!
"Sea veggies are so rich in nutrients that you only need a small amount," Goulart notes. "You don't have to track down the actual sea veggies.
"Instead, you can find little shakers of granulated sea veggies and use it as a substitute for pepper when dining."
The afflictions your new diet will combat
Acne and Other Skin Disorders
Arthritis
Allergies
The Common Cold
Depression
Diabetes
Headaches
Cancer
Heart Disease
Insomnia
Indigestion
Osteoporosis
Vision Disorders
"Soon after you start on my eating plan you'll feel more energy and find yourself clear headed," Goulart says. "The 25 super immunity foods help with your cravings for sugar so a nice side effect is weight loss."
Goulart says a good juicer makes healthy eating a breeze. You can start your day with a nice glass of fruit or veggie juice.
"It's a better eye-opener than coffee," she promises.
Chew on these food facts from Frances
- Dicing fruit into smaller pieces keeps oxidation to a minimum and preserves vitamin C.
- Cooked broccoli is higher in the antioxidants called carotenes, but raw broccoli is higher in vitamin C.
- Apple peels are rich in a compound that helps to halt the growth of cancer cells.
- Orange and tangerine rinds are a good source of probiotics for digestive health.
Check out this beauty secrets link!
Top 10 Beauty Foods and Diets!
Here are seven important qualities found in “beauty foods”:
1) A low glycemic index rating. Those with high ratings promote insulin secretion, a hormone which when in excess is known to age and destroy the body.
For example, high fiber and low sugar foods are lower on the glycemic index and are more desirable.
2) Anti-inflammatory properties. Our most common ailments such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and bowel disease are caused by inflammation. Consuming spices such as ginger, tumeric, cayenne, and oregano, as well as foods including salmon, garlic, and blueberries, have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
3) An alkaline or neutral pH. Fast foods and processed, refined foods are acidic and promote deterioration and aging. Yet, foods such as green vegetables, salads, sprouts, watercress, mustard greens, seaweed, sesame seeds, and berries are alkaline and rejuvenating.
4) High enzymatic content. Many illnesses occur as a result of lacking enzymes. They are critical in our food for digestion and assimilation of nutrients, yet they are sorely lacking in our packaged and microwave prepared foods. High enzyme foods are energizing and invigorating, allowing the body to heal and recover significantly faster from injury or aging skin cells and organs. Foods high in enzymes include fresh raw vegetables and berries, as well as raw cheeses, yogurt, and wild game.
5) High mineral content. Foods such as arugula, hemp seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, broccoli sprouts, raw honey, aloe vera, papaya, berries, and burdock root are rich in minerals including silicon, biotin, magnesium, sulfur, zinc, and manganese, all known for their importance for strong hair, skin, and nails.
6) High Syntropy value. Stress, toxins, unhealthy food, and lack of fresh air and sun increase the aging process. They create destruction and disorder or entropy in our bodies, and few things actually work in direct opposition. Syntropy is an order-enhancing energy force stored in food which actually neutralizes entropy and releases the beautifying power in food from the sun. Thus, eating “beauty” foods results in a more youthful energy, body, and mind.
7) Naturally colorful. The vibrant colors of natural foods indicate their wide spectrum of antioxidants, phytochemicals, and nutrients which protect, nourish, and heal the body from disease and aging. From the deep blue blueberries, to the red sockeye salmon, choose a variety of colors each day to optimize your intake of beautifying foods.
Beauty Cuisine” similar to Paleolithic nutrition, is undeniably the most important new trend for healthy living. It will first stimulate your taste buds and then support your body to eliminate toxins, rejuvenate skin cells, strengthen organs, and increase overall vitality, health, and appearance.
1. Wild Salmon
I picked salmon for my Top 10 list because it is one of the best food sources of omega-3 fatty acids, those beneficial fats that enhance our health and appearance by fighting inflammation, keeping our cells supple, improving circulation, and helping our brains function optimally.
Salmon is a beauty food because its nutrients play a key role in keeping the skin's outer layer soft and smooth. The omega-3s in salmon reduce inflammation on the cellular level that can cause redness, wrinkles, and loss of firmness.
Salmon is a great food choice because it tastes delicious and has all these health and beauty benefits. Salmon is generally available and affordable, and it can be prepared in myriad different ways.
You may prefer salmon fillet or salmon steak, fresh salmon or canned. You may opt for your salmon raw in sushi, smoked on a bagel, broiled as a burger, baked in the oven, or thrown on the grill.
2. Low-Fat Yogurt
I've included low-fat yogurt in my Top 10 Beauty Foods because it is a terrific source of calcium, which is especially helpful if you want strong bones, beautiful nails, good posture, and a beautiful smile.
One cup of plain, low-fat yogurt supplies about 450 milligrams of calcium. That's more than the amount of calcium in a cup of fat-free milk, and it supplies close to half of your daily calcium needs. The beauty benefits of yogurt are not limited its calcium content, though. Eight ounces of yogurt has two grams of zinc, which is beneficial for your skin.
At about 150 calories per cup, plain low-fat yogurt is a slimming treat. Try to stay away from commercial brands of yogurt that have lots of fruit and sugar added. An eight-ounce fruit-flavored yogurt may contain 28 grams of sugar (equal to seven teaspoons)! Excess sugar contributes calories and can harm the natural suppleness of your skin.
3. Oysters
The expression "the world is your oyster" suggests that oysters have a world of benefits tucked inside their shell. These little gifts from the sea are on my Top 10 list because they are the best whole-food source of zinc.
People often think of oysters as an aphrodisiac, but the high zinc content of oysters is a great beauty benefit as this mineral is a major player in skin renewal and repair. It helps create collagen, which provides the structural support in skin.
Oysters can be cooked in a wide variety of ways, such as Oysters Primavera, Broiled Oysters Florentine with Mixed Greens, and Poached Oysters in Garlic, Herbs, and Broth with Mixed Greens and Whole Wheat Baguette. Of course, many people enjoy oysters best served raw on the half shell.
If you are pregnant, I do not recommend eating raw oysters or any other undercooked food.
4. Blueberries
With their bright flavor and unmistakable blue hue, blueberries seem to be trying to catch our attention. Today the humble blueberry is experiencing a new level of popularity, not because it has a significant amount of any one vitamin or mineral but because of its unusual antioxidant profile.
Researchers at a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) laboratory at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, rank blueberries number one in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 common fresh fruits and vegetables. Blueberries contain many plant compounds that combine to make this sweet fruit an antioxidant superstar.
I included blueberries in my Top 10 Beauty Foods because their antioxidant, anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory effects protect you from premature aging.
Blueberries keep us looking young, provide us with dietary fiber, and help protect us from cancer, eye problems, and age-related diseases. At eighty calories a cup, this slimming fruit has so many health benefits you'll want to be sure to add it to your diet.
5. Kiwifruit
Kiwifruit offers a rich nutritional reward in a small, delicious package. Inside of this small, brown, fuzzy fruit -- about the size and shape of a very large egg -- you'll find semi-translucent green flesh and small black seeds around a white center.
Kiwifruit has a unique sweet flavor something like a combination of strawberries, pineapples and bananas. I've included kiwifruit among the Top 10 Beauty Foods because it offers more than just a tropical touch for your fruit salad: it has an unusually abundant amount of vitamin C and other anti-aging antioxidants.
Kiwifruit offers beauty benefits from stimulating collagen synthesis (vital to lovely skin) to maintaining healthy bones and teeth to protecting against wrinkles and premature aging. Because kiwis are antioxidant all-stars, they can help neutralize free radicals, which otherwise can cause damage to cells that could lead to inflammation, cancer, and heart disease. Kiwi is a slimming fruit.Two medium kiwis have only 92 calories.
6. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are on my list of Top 10 Beauty Foods because of their big boost of beauty-enhancing beta-carotene, a fat-soluble pigment found in many orange vegetables and fruits.
It is a powerful antioxidant that protects our cells by destroying the free radicals that can damage cells (including skin cells) and cause age-related disorders. The body converts beta-carotene to vitamin A, which helps keep your skin smooth, so incorporating sweet potatoes into your diet can help you achieve wrinkle-free skin.
Beta-carotene also may protect skin from the damage caused by sun exposure. One cup of cubed sweet potato contains a stunning 14,260 micrograms of beta-carotene.
For a modest 115-calorie investment, you get a huge nutritional return.
7. Spinach
Spinach is a versatile, affordable, readily available, low-calorie leafy green vegetable that is loaded with beauty-enhancing nutrients. I included it in my Top 10 Beauty Foods because of its exceptional lutein content, which keeps our eyes healthy and bright.
Spinach also contains a significant amount of beta-carotene, as well as vitamin C, several B vitamins, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, dietary fiber, and even omega-3 fatty acids, making it a wonderfully nutrient-dense vegetable.
8. Tomatoes
I added tomatoes to my list of Top 10 Beauty Foods because they provide the greatest amount of the anti-aging antioxidant lycopene, the bright red carotenoid pigment that gives tomatoes, watermelons, and pink grapefruit their distinctive color.
Tomatoes are one food I encourage you to enjoy processed. The lycopene in tomatoes is actually more easily absorbed by the body after it is processed into juice, sauce, ketchup, or canned tomato puree. Ounce for ounce, the greatest source is canned tomato paste. It's a great staple to keep in your pantry to add to soups or stews for an antioxidant boost.
Lycopene is a powerful anti-aging antioxidant thought to have the highest antioxidant activity of all the carotenoids. Because of its antioxidant effects, lycopene may help protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, macular degeneration, and possibly other diseases, such as diabetes and osteoporosis.
It seems like nature decided to put a powerful combination of anti-aging antioxidants into the beautiful and tasty package we call the tomato. You'll think of a hundred ways to add tomatoes to your diet, from putting a thick, vine-ripened slice on your veggie burger to adding canned tomatoes to your favorite chili recipe.
9. Walnuts
Smooth skin tone, healthy hair, vibrant eyes, and strong bones can all be attributed to the dominant nutrients found in walnuts.
I've included walnuts among my Top 10 Beauty Foods because they are the only type of nut that contains a significant amount of beauty-enhancing omega-3 fatty acids, plus they also provide vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps protect cells from free-radical damage and is associated with beautiful skin.
Many people are cautious about eating nuts, but research supports eating a small number of walnuts throughout your day. In fact, research has revealed that eating just four walnuts a day for three weeks significantly increases blood levels not only of alpha-linolenic acid, the essential omega-3 fatty acid, but also of its longer chain derivative, eicosapentaenoic acid.
Walnuts are a fantastic way to add nutrients, taste, and crunch to your diet. You can eat them by themselves or throw a handful into your cereal, salad, or stir-fry.
10. Dark Chocolate
Chocolate may be described as "sinfully delicious," but in fact it is a heavenly food with many virtues. I've included dark chocolate on my list of Top 10 Beauty Foods because it is a treat for your skin as well as your taste buds.
Scientific articles published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and other journals reveal that dark chocolate contains as many polyphenols as red wine and has potent antioxidant, anti-aging properties.
Chocolate contains many natural chemicals, including the beneficial flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are plant compounds that possess antioxidant properties. Antioxidants rid the body of free radicals, prevent the cell damage caused by free radicals, and help protect your appearance from the signs of aging.
Talk about beauty benefits from this delicious treat: a study that involved drinking cocoa (imagine!) showed an increase in blood flow to skin tissue, with improved skin hydration and reduced roughness and scaling among the female study participants.
So will revamping a diet to include the Top 10 Beauty Foods allow a woman to stop wearing makeup?
"I'm not telling women to toss their makeup," Drayer tells Diet.com. "I want them to realize so much of how we look is a reflection of the foods we put into our body
"Concealer by its very name is a cover-up. Follow my advice and you'll start looking better from the inside out -- you'll need less makeup and hair products to look your best!"
1) A low glycemic index rating. Those with high ratings promote insulin secretion, a hormone which when in excess is known to age and destroy the body.
For example, high fiber and low sugar foods are lower on the glycemic index and are more desirable.
2) Anti-inflammatory properties. Our most common ailments such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and bowel disease are caused by inflammation. Consuming spices such as ginger, tumeric, cayenne, and oregano, as well as foods including salmon, garlic, and blueberries, have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
3) An alkaline or neutral pH. Fast foods and processed, refined foods are acidic and promote deterioration and aging. Yet, foods such as green vegetables, salads, sprouts, watercress, mustard greens, seaweed, sesame seeds, and berries are alkaline and rejuvenating.
4) High enzymatic content. Many illnesses occur as a result of lacking enzymes. They are critical in our food for digestion and assimilation of nutrients, yet they are sorely lacking in our packaged and microwave prepared foods. High enzyme foods are energizing and invigorating, allowing the body to heal and recover significantly faster from injury or aging skin cells and organs. Foods high in enzymes include fresh raw vegetables and berries, as well as raw cheeses, yogurt, and wild game.
5) High mineral content. Foods such as arugula, hemp seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, broccoli sprouts, raw honey, aloe vera, papaya, berries, and burdock root are rich in minerals including silicon, biotin, magnesium, sulfur, zinc, and manganese, all known for their importance for strong hair, skin, and nails.
6) High Syntropy value. Stress, toxins, unhealthy food, and lack of fresh air and sun increase the aging process. They create destruction and disorder or entropy in our bodies, and few things actually work in direct opposition. Syntropy is an order-enhancing energy force stored in food which actually neutralizes entropy and releases the beautifying power in food from the sun. Thus, eating “beauty” foods results in a more youthful energy, body, and mind.
7) Naturally colorful. The vibrant colors of natural foods indicate their wide spectrum of antioxidants, phytochemicals, and nutrients which protect, nourish, and heal the body from disease and aging. From the deep blue blueberries, to the red sockeye salmon, choose a variety of colors each day to optimize your intake of beautifying foods.
Beauty Cuisine” similar to Paleolithic nutrition, is undeniably the most important new trend for healthy living. It will first stimulate your taste buds and then support your body to eliminate toxins, rejuvenate skin cells, strengthen organs, and increase overall vitality, health, and appearance.
1. Wild Salmon
I picked salmon for my Top 10 list because it is one of the best food sources of omega-3 fatty acids, those beneficial fats that enhance our health and appearance by fighting inflammation, keeping our cells supple, improving circulation, and helping our brains function optimally.
Salmon is a beauty food because its nutrients play a key role in keeping the skin's outer layer soft and smooth. The omega-3s in salmon reduce inflammation on the cellular level that can cause redness, wrinkles, and loss of firmness.
Salmon is a great food choice because it tastes delicious and has all these health and beauty benefits. Salmon is generally available and affordable, and it can be prepared in myriad different ways.
You may prefer salmon fillet or salmon steak, fresh salmon or canned. You may opt for your salmon raw in sushi, smoked on a bagel, broiled as a burger, baked in the oven, or thrown on the grill.
2. Low-Fat Yogurt
I've included low-fat yogurt in my Top 10 Beauty Foods because it is a terrific source of calcium, which is especially helpful if you want strong bones, beautiful nails, good posture, and a beautiful smile.
One cup of plain, low-fat yogurt supplies about 450 milligrams of calcium. That's more than the amount of calcium in a cup of fat-free milk, and it supplies close to half of your daily calcium needs. The beauty benefits of yogurt are not limited its calcium content, though. Eight ounces of yogurt has two grams of zinc, which is beneficial for your skin.
At about 150 calories per cup, plain low-fat yogurt is a slimming treat. Try to stay away from commercial brands of yogurt that have lots of fruit and sugar added. An eight-ounce fruit-flavored yogurt may contain 28 grams of sugar (equal to seven teaspoons)! Excess sugar contributes calories and can harm the natural suppleness of your skin.
3. Oysters
The expression "the world is your oyster" suggests that oysters have a world of benefits tucked inside their shell. These little gifts from the sea are on my Top 10 list because they are the best whole-food source of zinc.
People often think of oysters as an aphrodisiac, but the high zinc content of oysters is a great beauty benefit as this mineral is a major player in skin renewal and repair. It helps create collagen, which provides the structural support in skin.
Oysters can be cooked in a wide variety of ways, such as Oysters Primavera, Broiled Oysters Florentine with Mixed Greens, and Poached Oysters in Garlic, Herbs, and Broth with Mixed Greens and Whole Wheat Baguette. Of course, many people enjoy oysters best served raw on the half shell.
If you are pregnant, I do not recommend eating raw oysters or any other undercooked food.
4. Blueberries
With their bright flavor and unmistakable blue hue, blueberries seem to be trying to catch our attention. Today the humble blueberry is experiencing a new level of popularity, not because it has a significant amount of any one vitamin or mineral but because of its unusual antioxidant profile.
Researchers at a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) laboratory at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, rank blueberries number one in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 common fresh fruits and vegetables. Blueberries contain many plant compounds that combine to make this sweet fruit an antioxidant superstar.
I included blueberries in my Top 10 Beauty Foods because their antioxidant, anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory effects protect you from premature aging.
Blueberries keep us looking young, provide us with dietary fiber, and help protect us from cancer, eye problems, and age-related diseases. At eighty calories a cup, this slimming fruit has so many health benefits you'll want to be sure to add it to your diet.
5. Kiwifruit
Kiwifruit offers a rich nutritional reward in a small, delicious package. Inside of this small, brown, fuzzy fruit -- about the size and shape of a very large egg -- you'll find semi-translucent green flesh and small black seeds around a white center.
Kiwifruit has a unique sweet flavor something like a combination of strawberries, pineapples and bananas. I've included kiwifruit among the Top 10 Beauty Foods because it offers more than just a tropical touch for your fruit salad: it has an unusually abundant amount of vitamin C and other anti-aging antioxidants.
Kiwifruit offers beauty benefits from stimulating collagen synthesis (vital to lovely skin) to maintaining healthy bones and teeth to protecting against wrinkles and premature aging. Because kiwis are antioxidant all-stars, they can help neutralize free radicals, which otherwise can cause damage to cells that could lead to inflammation, cancer, and heart disease. Kiwi is a slimming fruit.Two medium kiwis have only 92 calories.
6. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are on my list of Top 10 Beauty Foods because of their big boost of beauty-enhancing beta-carotene, a fat-soluble pigment found in many orange vegetables and fruits.
It is a powerful antioxidant that protects our cells by destroying the free radicals that can damage cells (including skin cells) and cause age-related disorders. The body converts beta-carotene to vitamin A, which helps keep your skin smooth, so incorporating sweet potatoes into your diet can help you achieve wrinkle-free skin.
Beta-carotene also may protect skin from the damage caused by sun exposure. One cup of cubed sweet potato contains a stunning 14,260 micrograms of beta-carotene.
For a modest 115-calorie investment, you get a huge nutritional return.
7. Spinach
Spinach is a versatile, affordable, readily available, low-calorie leafy green vegetable that is loaded with beauty-enhancing nutrients. I included it in my Top 10 Beauty Foods because of its exceptional lutein content, which keeps our eyes healthy and bright.
Spinach also contains a significant amount of beta-carotene, as well as vitamin C, several B vitamins, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, dietary fiber, and even omega-3 fatty acids, making it a wonderfully nutrient-dense vegetable.
8. Tomatoes
I added tomatoes to my list of Top 10 Beauty Foods because they provide the greatest amount of the anti-aging antioxidant lycopene, the bright red carotenoid pigment that gives tomatoes, watermelons, and pink grapefruit their distinctive color.
Tomatoes are one food I encourage you to enjoy processed. The lycopene in tomatoes is actually more easily absorbed by the body after it is processed into juice, sauce, ketchup, or canned tomato puree. Ounce for ounce, the greatest source is canned tomato paste. It's a great staple to keep in your pantry to add to soups or stews for an antioxidant boost.
Lycopene is a powerful anti-aging antioxidant thought to have the highest antioxidant activity of all the carotenoids. Because of its antioxidant effects, lycopene may help protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, macular degeneration, and possibly other diseases, such as diabetes and osteoporosis.
It seems like nature decided to put a powerful combination of anti-aging antioxidants into the beautiful and tasty package we call the tomato. You'll think of a hundred ways to add tomatoes to your diet, from putting a thick, vine-ripened slice on your veggie burger to adding canned tomatoes to your favorite chili recipe.
9. Walnuts
Smooth skin tone, healthy hair, vibrant eyes, and strong bones can all be attributed to the dominant nutrients found in walnuts.
I've included walnuts among my Top 10 Beauty Foods because they are the only type of nut that contains a significant amount of beauty-enhancing omega-3 fatty acids, plus they also provide vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps protect cells from free-radical damage and is associated with beautiful skin.
Many people are cautious about eating nuts, but research supports eating a small number of walnuts throughout your day. In fact, research has revealed that eating just four walnuts a day for three weeks significantly increases blood levels not only of alpha-linolenic acid, the essential omega-3 fatty acid, but also of its longer chain derivative, eicosapentaenoic acid.
Walnuts are a fantastic way to add nutrients, taste, and crunch to your diet. You can eat them by themselves or throw a handful into your cereal, salad, or stir-fry.
10. Dark Chocolate
Chocolate may be described as "sinfully delicious," but in fact it is a heavenly food with many virtues. I've included dark chocolate on my list of Top 10 Beauty Foods because it is a treat for your skin as well as your taste buds.
Scientific articles published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and other journals reveal that dark chocolate contains as many polyphenols as red wine and has potent antioxidant, anti-aging properties.
Chocolate contains many natural chemicals, including the beneficial flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are plant compounds that possess antioxidant properties. Antioxidants rid the body of free radicals, prevent the cell damage caused by free radicals, and help protect your appearance from the signs of aging.
Talk about beauty benefits from this delicious treat: a study that involved drinking cocoa (imagine!) showed an increase in blood flow to skin tissue, with improved skin hydration and reduced roughness and scaling among the female study participants.
So will revamping a diet to include the Top 10 Beauty Foods allow a woman to stop wearing makeup?
"I'm not telling women to toss their makeup," Drayer tells Diet.com. "I want them to realize so much of how we look is a reflection of the foods we put into our body
"Concealer by its very name is a cover-up. Follow my advice and you'll start looking better from the inside out -- you'll need less makeup and hair products to look your best!"
How To Train With A Heart Rate Monitor.
Oh..... you have just bought a heart rate monitor. You wore it to your spinning class, and the crazy woman in front conducting the class just kept screaming into your ears asking you to pedal faster and faster. She came to you, stared at the figure flashing on the monitor which said 148, and ready to swallow you alive. You were only 25 years old. At that rate, you were just cycling at 75% your maximum heart rate (derived from subtracting your age from 220), but your instructor wanted you to cycle at 85%! What should you do? You were at the brink of collapsing.
Alright, there are so many misconceptions about training with a heart rate monitor that I would like to clarify here. In the next paragraphs, I will tell you all you need to know about training with a heart rate monitor. But before then, I would like you to understand this. A heart rate monitor is just a device for you to optimize your training. It provides nothing but just a guideline on how hard you are training. You still have to listen to your body, as your health state changes everyday. You may be able to cycle at 90% of your MHR for 5 minutes today, but you will not be able to do so on a daily basis. When your body screams stop, stop!
Why do I need a heart rate monitor?
1. Fitness goals
Depending on your fitness goals, you would like to train in a certain heart rate zones. In my previous article, I have mentioned about the optimal zone to train in order to lose more fat. Also called the aerobic zone, this is the zone to keep your heart rate in so that your body preferentially burns fat as energy. On the other hand, if you are a competitive runner, you would like to train as often as possible in your anaerobic or maximal zones. Training in these zones will enable your body to get accustomed to lactic acid build-up, which is essential if you want to perform well during that all-out sprint when you approach the finish line in a race.
2. Prevent over-training
For many competitive runners, each run is essentially a dance along the fine line between optimal training and over-training. Using a heart monitor to avoid stressing your body too much, means that you will maximize the efficiency of your training, and at the same time minimizing the opportunity for injury. Injuries are much less likely to occur when you are not over-taxing your body, and avoiding injuries is tantamount to avoiding setbacks in your training. To put it another way, the single best outcome from using your heart rate monitor is to ensure your easy days are easy and your hard days are hard. This sounds almost too simplistic to even mention, but habits dominate almost every aspect of our lives, including being an athlete. “A slow run” tends to result, by sheer habit, in running at nearly the same effort whether it’s 60 minutes or 4 hours. Your body improves most by cycles of stress and recovery, and using your monitor correctly will help keep each workout on target, whether it is lung-busting intervals, or an easy recovery slow run.
3. Prevent under-training
Though, perhaps less common than over-training, some runners simply do not run hard enough, or often enough. In this case, the monitor can function as a coach, telling you when your body can handle more, and consequently, when you should pick up the pace. Set a minimum heart-rate goal for your run, and the monitor will beep when you have dropped below your target, telling you to work harder.
4. Pacing during training
Perhaps the most obvious use for a heart monitor is to pace your training runs. Sometimes your time is not the best measure of how hard you are working. Different terrain, different energy levels, inconsistent distance measurements, and any number of factors can mislead you into thinking that you have performed well or poorly when the opposite may be true. Your cardiovascular performance is best measured by the work-rate of your heart, so pacing your training runs according to your heart rate is the best method of targeting your cardiovascular fitness as you do your workout.
5. Pacing during a race
Realized how the cheering of the crowds made you run faster, and the silence of lonely stretches that occur towards the end of some races, made you run slower? Within a racing context, a monitor is perhaps most useful in preventing you from going out too fast or working too hard early in the race.
How do I determine my training zones?
In order to determine your heart rate zones, there are only 2 basic data that you need: your maximum heart rate (MHR) and resting heart rate (RHR). Easy as it may sound, it is a most difficult task to determine someone’s MHR. Using a formula to calculate MHR is oversimplification which not only causes inaccuracy, but also inability to benefit maximally from your training. You may over- or under-train due to inaccurately obtained MHR.
For example, if I were to calculate my MHR from the basic formula, which was 186 per minute, training at 140 per minute would be my optimal aerobic training zone. However, by performing a proper physical test, I determined my MHR was actually 200! Does it mean that I am as good as a 20 year-old chap? Probably. But that is not the point. The whole point is there is a lot of variability amongst different individuals. And by training at the heart rate of 140 would simply mean I had been under-training, had I use the calculated MHR as a guideline.
After determining your MHR, you can determine the zones you would like to exercise in:
1. Zone 1 - Low Intensity zone: 50% - 60% of MHR
2. Zone 2 - Weight Control zone: 60% - 70% of MHR
3. Zone 3 - Aerobic zone: 70% - 80% of MHR
4. Zone 4 - Anaerobic zone: 80% - 90% of MHR
5. Zone 5 - Maximal zone: 90% - 100% of MHR
How do I determine my MHR?
There are 2 ways as I have mentioned earlier:
1. Simple Formulaic Estimation of the MHR Based on Age:
In general, this method will provide reasonable accuracy for about 80% of runners, but it should almost invariably be supplemented with an actual test. Typically, one of three simple formulas is used to estimate one's maximum heart rate.
Formula #1: The first formula involves simply subtracting your age from the number 220 (for men) or from 226 (for women). This method is preferred for beginning athletes, those who have been leading a sedentary lifestyle.
Formula #2: The second formula is very similar, but is preferable for those who are already quite active. For this formula, simply subtract half of your age from the number 205.
Formula #3: The third formula runs along the same vein as the two preceding it. For men, subtract 80% of your age from the number 214. For women, subtract 70% of your age from the number 209.
2. Actual Testing of the MHR Through Physical Exertion:
The only way to truly find your maximum heart rate is to exert yourself vigorously for several minutes, obviously while wearing your heart monitor. In doing this, you have two options.
Option 1: Personal Test <
Perhaps the best way for most people to find their MHR is to calculate it themselves. The most effective method is to do interval training, preferably on a hill. The level of exertion is significantly higher than just going out for a healthy jog around the block.
The test consists of a short warm up, a gradual increase of intensity over time, a final push to get a maximum, then a complete cool down. The reason for the gradual build up is that brain does not signal the heart to work at its true maximum for that activity instantaneously. So if you warm up for 5 minutes, then sprint your hardest for another minute, the heart still will not have achieved a true maximum for that activity. Slow, steady increases are needed to coax the heart to a true maximum.
Here is the actual test which works well for both running and cycling:
* 5 min. warm up slowly to a pace at the end where you are beginning to breathe a little hard
* 5 min. maintain the pace, increasing a bit at the end
* 5 min. increase pace again to labored breathing.
* 5 min. on a gradual incline increase the pace from just breathing hard to breathing very hard. Transition directly into…
* 2 min. all out sprint on a steep hill to maximum speed!
* 1 min. push this max speed while still going up and hold for a minute or as long as possible!! Record MHR.
* 10 min. cool down at a very easy pace and stretch.
Option 2: Lab Test
In a lab test, you will be put on a treadmill with a pulse monitor, and asked by a specialist to run a specific, short, intense program. This option is best if you have a heart condition, or if you are unsure of your physical health, for medical personnel and equipment are all either present or nearby. Check your local hospital or university athletic department for a contact for these centers.
How do I determine my RHR?
The best method for determining your RHR involves strapping on your heart monitor when you wake up in the morning, before you even get out of bed. Simply lay there for two or three minutes; your lowest pulse rate will be your RHR. Doing this test first thing in the morning is logical, for there are many factors aside from physical activity that can lead to an increased heart rate - including stress and the presence of caffeine in your system - which can be eliminated by doing the test immediately after waking up.
How do I determine my training zones?
The Karvonen formula takes advantage of the difference between your MHR and RHR and is what you will use to derive your training zones based on your personal measurements:
((MHR-RHR) x Percent level) + RHR
For example, to determine zone 5 for myself, I will need to determine my MHR and RHR, which are 200 and 45.
Hence:
90% MHR will be ((200-45) x 0.9) + 45 = 184.5
How to measure progress?
Now that you have all the data from your training downloaded to your computer, how do you determine whether you have made any significant progress?
First, as you improve, you will see that running the same distances at the same heart rate will become easier. Which means that if you are able to complete a 10K run today at the same speed you did, lets say 3 months ago, but at a much lower heart rate, you have made a progress!
Another way to see results is to keep track of your resting heart rate by taking it down and recording it every morning before you get out of bed. Many trainers recommend that runners keep track of their RHR on a daily basis, and, as stated above in the RHR section, increased fitness should bring with it a lower RHR.
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my cycling instructor, Selene, from California Fitness, for making me work so hard so that I could determine my MHR. I have always thought it was 193, till she made me sprint till the brink of collapsing, and I achieved 200!
Happy training!
Hey....check out this usefull health secrets that billion dollor industry don't want you to know!
Alright, there are so many misconceptions about training with a heart rate monitor that I would like to clarify here. In the next paragraphs, I will tell you all you need to know about training with a heart rate monitor. But before then, I would like you to understand this. A heart rate monitor is just a device for you to optimize your training. It provides nothing but just a guideline on how hard you are training. You still have to listen to your body, as your health state changes everyday. You may be able to cycle at 90% of your MHR for 5 minutes today, but you will not be able to do so on a daily basis. When your body screams stop, stop!
Why do I need a heart rate monitor?
1. Fitness goals
Depending on your fitness goals, you would like to train in a certain heart rate zones. In my previous article, I have mentioned about the optimal zone to train in order to lose more fat. Also called the aerobic zone, this is the zone to keep your heart rate in so that your body preferentially burns fat as energy. On the other hand, if you are a competitive runner, you would like to train as often as possible in your anaerobic or maximal zones. Training in these zones will enable your body to get accustomed to lactic acid build-up, which is essential if you want to perform well during that all-out sprint when you approach the finish line in a race.
2. Prevent over-training
For many competitive runners, each run is essentially a dance along the fine line between optimal training and over-training. Using a heart monitor to avoid stressing your body too much, means that you will maximize the efficiency of your training, and at the same time minimizing the opportunity for injury. Injuries are much less likely to occur when you are not over-taxing your body, and avoiding injuries is tantamount to avoiding setbacks in your training. To put it another way, the single best outcome from using your heart rate monitor is to ensure your easy days are easy and your hard days are hard. This sounds almost too simplistic to even mention, but habits dominate almost every aspect of our lives, including being an athlete. “A slow run” tends to result, by sheer habit, in running at nearly the same effort whether it’s 60 minutes or 4 hours. Your body improves most by cycles of stress and recovery, and using your monitor correctly will help keep each workout on target, whether it is lung-busting intervals, or an easy recovery slow run.
3. Prevent under-training
Though, perhaps less common than over-training, some runners simply do not run hard enough, or often enough. In this case, the monitor can function as a coach, telling you when your body can handle more, and consequently, when you should pick up the pace. Set a minimum heart-rate goal for your run, and the monitor will beep when you have dropped below your target, telling you to work harder.
4. Pacing during training
Perhaps the most obvious use for a heart monitor is to pace your training runs. Sometimes your time is not the best measure of how hard you are working. Different terrain, different energy levels, inconsistent distance measurements, and any number of factors can mislead you into thinking that you have performed well or poorly when the opposite may be true. Your cardiovascular performance is best measured by the work-rate of your heart, so pacing your training runs according to your heart rate is the best method of targeting your cardiovascular fitness as you do your workout.
5. Pacing during a race
Realized how the cheering of the crowds made you run faster, and the silence of lonely stretches that occur towards the end of some races, made you run slower? Within a racing context, a monitor is perhaps most useful in preventing you from going out too fast or working too hard early in the race.
How do I determine my training zones?
In order to determine your heart rate zones, there are only 2 basic data that you need: your maximum heart rate (MHR) and resting heart rate (RHR). Easy as it may sound, it is a most difficult task to determine someone’s MHR. Using a formula to calculate MHR is oversimplification which not only causes inaccuracy, but also inability to benefit maximally from your training. You may over- or under-train due to inaccurately obtained MHR.
For example, if I were to calculate my MHR from the basic formula, which was 186 per minute, training at 140 per minute would be my optimal aerobic training zone. However, by performing a proper physical test, I determined my MHR was actually 200! Does it mean that I am as good as a 20 year-old chap? Probably. But that is not the point. The whole point is there is a lot of variability amongst different individuals. And by training at the heart rate of 140 would simply mean I had been under-training, had I use the calculated MHR as a guideline.
After determining your MHR, you can determine the zones you would like to exercise in:
1. Zone 1 - Low Intensity zone: 50% - 60% of MHR
2. Zone 2 - Weight Control zone: 60% - 70% of MHR
3. Zone 3 - Aerobic zone: 70% - 80% of MHR
4. Zone 4 - Anaerobic zone: 80% - 90% of MHR
5. Zone 5 - Maximal zone: 90% - 100% of MHR
How do I determine my MHR?
There are 2 ways as I have mentioned earlier:
1. Simple Formulaic Estimation of the MHR Based on Age:
In general, this method will provide reasonable accuracy for about 80% of runners, but it should almost invariably be supplemented with an actual test. Typically, one of three simple formulas is used to estimate one's maximum heart rate.
Formula #1: The first formula involves simply subtracting your age from the number 220 (for men) or from 226 (for women). This method is preferred for beginning athletes, those who have been leading a sedentary lifestyle.
Formula #2: The second formula is very similar, but is preferable for those who are already quite active. For this formula, simply subtract half of your age from the number 205.
Formula #3: The third formula runs along the same vein as the two preceding it. For men, subtract 80% of your age from the number 214. For women, subtract 70% of your age from the number 209.
2. Actual Testing of the MHR Through Physical Exertion:
The only way to truly find your maximum heart rate is to exert yourself vigorously for several minutes, obviously while wearing your heart monitor. In doing this, you have two options.
Option 1: Personal Test <
Perhaps the best way for most people to find their MHR is to calculate it themselves. The most effective method is to do interval training, preferably on a hill. The level of exertion is significantly higher than just going out for a healthy jog around the block.
The test consists of a short warm up, a gradual increase of intensity over time, a final push to get a maximum, then a complete cool down. The reason for the gradual build up is that brain does not signal the heart to work at its true maximum for that activity instantaneously. So if you warm up for 5 minutes, then sprint your hardest for another minute, the heart still will not have achieved a true maximum for that activity. Slow, steady increases are needed to coax the heart to a true maximum.
Here is the actual test which works well for both running and cycling:
* 5 min. warm up slowly to a pace at the end where you are beginning to breathe a little hard
* 5 min. maintain the pace, increasing a bit at the end
* 5 min. increase pace again to labored breathing.
* 5 min. on a gradual incline increase the pace from just breathing hard to breathing very hard. Transition directly into…
* 2 min. all out sprint on a steep hill to maximum speed!
* 1 min. push this max speed while still going up and hold for a minute or as long as possible!! Record MHR.
* 10 min. cool down at a very easy pace and stretch.
Option 2: Lab Test
In a lab test, you will be put on a treadmill with a pulse monitor, and asked by a specialist to run a specific, short, intense program. This option is best if you have a heart condition, or if you are unsure of your physical health, for medical personnel and equipment are all either present or nearby. Check your local hospital or university athletic department for a contact for these centers.
How do I determine my RHR?
The best method for determining your RHR involves strapping on your heart monitor when you wake up in the morning, before you even get out of bed. Simply lay there for two or three minutes; your lowest pulse rate will be your RHR. Doing this test first thing in the morning is logical, for there are many factors aside from physical activity that can lead to an increased heart rate - including stress and the presence of caffeine in your system - which can be eliminated by doing the test immediately after waking up.
How do I determine my training zones?
The Karvonen formula takes advantage of the difference between your MHR and RHR and is what you will use to derive your training zones based on your personal measurements:
((MHR-RHR) x Percent level) + RHR
For example, to determine zone 5 for myself, I will need to determine my MHR and RHR, which are 200 and 45.
Hence:
90% MHR will be ((200-45) x 0.9) + 45 = 184.5
How to measure progress?
Now that you have all the data from your training downloaded to your computer, how do you determine whether you have made any significant progress?
First, as you improve, you will see that running the same distances at the same heart rate will become easier. Which means that if you are able to complete a 10K run today at the same speed you did, lets say 3 months ago, but at a much lower heart rate, you have made a progress!
Another way to see results is to keep track of your resting heart rate by taking it down and recording it every morning before you get out of bed. Many trainers recommend that runners keep track of their RHR on a daily basis, and, as stated above in the RHR section, increased fitness should bring with it a lower RHR.
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my cycling instructor, Selene, from California Fitness, for making me work so hard so that I could determine my MHR. I have always thought it was 193, till she made me sprint till the brink of collapsing, and I achieved 200!
Happy training!
Hey....check out this usefull health secrets that billion dollor industry don't want you to know!
What Is The Ageing Proccess?
As we age, our bodies change in many ways that affect the function of both individual cells and organ systems. These changes occur little by little and progress inevitably over time. However, the rate of this progression can be very different from person to person. Research in aging is beginning to find out the reasons for these changes and the genetic and environmental factors that control them.
o Genetic and Environmental Factors
+ Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors
o Cellular Changes Associated with Aging
o Bodily Changes Associated with Aging
+ Changes in Height
+ Changes in Weight
+ Changes in Body Composition
o Other Changes with Aging
+ Normal Aging and Disease
+ Changes in the Regulation of Body Systems
Genetic and Environmental Factors
The aging process depends on a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. Recognizing that every individual has his or her own unique genetic makeup and environment, which interact with each other, helps us understand why the aging process can occur at such different rates in different people. Overall, genetic factors seem to be more powerful than environmental factors in determining the large differences among people in aging and lifespan. There are even some specific genetic disorders that speed up the aging process, such as Hutchinson-Gilford, Werner’s, and Down syndromes. However, many environmental conditions, such as the quality of health care that you receive, have a substantial effect on aging. A healthy lifestyle is an especially important factor in healthy aging and longevity (see Prevention). These environmental factors can significantly extend lifespan.
Behaviors of a Healthy Lifestyle
o Not smoking
o Drinking alcohol in moderation
o Exercising
o Getting adequate rest
o Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables
o Coping with stress
o Having a positive outlook
Cellular Changes Associated with Aging
Aging causes functional changes in cells. For example, the rate at which cells multiply tends to slow down as we age. Certain cells that are important for our immune system to work properly (called T-cell lymphocytes) also decrease with age. In addition, age causes changes in our responses to environmental stresses or exposures, such as ultraviolet light, heat, not enough oxygen, poor nutrition, and toxins (poisons) among others.
Age also interferes with an important process called apoptosis, which programs cells to self-destruct or die at appropriate times. This process is necessary for tissues to remain healthy, and it is especially important in slowing down immune responses once an infection has been cleared from the body.
Different diseases that are common in elderly people can affect this process in different ways. For example, cancer results in a loss of apoptosis. The cancer cells continue to multiply and invade or take over surrounding tissue, instead of dying as originally programmed. Other diseases may cause cells to die too early. In Alzheimer’s disease, a substance called amyloid builds up and causes the early death of brain cells, which results in a progressive loss of memory and other brain functions. Toxins produced as byproducts of nerve-cell transmissions are also thought to be involved in the death of nerve cells in Parkinson’s disease.
Bodily Changes Associated with Aging
Our bodies normally change in appearance as we age.
Changes in Height
We all lose height as we age, although when the height loss begins and how quickly it progresses vary quite a bit among different people. Generally, our height increases until our late forties and then decreases about two inches by age 80. The reasons for height loss include the following:
* changes in posture
* changes in the growth of vertebrae (the bones that make up the spine)
* a forward bending of the spine
* compression of the discs between the vertebrae
* increased curvature of the hips and knees
* decreased joint space in the trunk and extremities
* joint changes in the feet
* flattening of the arches
The length of the bones in our legs does not change much.
Changes in Weight
In men, body weight generally increases until their mid-fifties; then it decreases, with weight being lost faster in their late sixties and seventies. In women, body weight increases until the late sixties and then decreases at a rate slower than that of men.
People that live in less technologically developed societies do not show this pattern of weight change. This suggests that reduced physical activity and changes in eating habits may be causes of the change in body weight rather than the aging process.
Changes in Body Composition
The proportion of the body that is made up of fat doubles between age 25 and age 75. Exercise programs may prevent or reverse much of the proportional decrease in muscle mass and increase in total body fat. This change in body composition is important to consider in nutritional planning and level of activity. The change in body composition also has an important effect on how the body handles various drugs. For example, when our body fat increases, drugs that are dissolved in fatty tissues remain in the body much longer than when our body was younger and more muscular.
Other Changes with Aging
Normal aging in the absence of disease is a remarkably benign process. In other words, our body can remain healthy as we age. Although our organs may gradually lose some function, we may not even notice these changes except during periods of great exertion or stress. We may also experience slower reaction times.
Normal Aging and Disease
Aging and disease are related in subtle and complex ways. Several conditions that were once thought to be part of normal aging have now been shown to be due to disease processes that can be influenced by lifestyle. For example, heart and blood vessel diseases are more common in people who eat a lot of meat and fat. Similarly, cataract formation in the eye largely depends on the amount of exposure to direct sunlight.
We should remember that there is a range of individual response to aging. Biologic and chronologic ages are not the same. In addition, body systems do not age at the same rate within any individual. For example, you might have severe arthritis or loss of vision while the function of your heart or kidneys is excellent. Even those aging changes that are considered "usual" or "normal" are not inevitable consequences of aging.
Changes in the Regulation of Body Systems
The way our body regulates certain systems changes with age. Some examples are listed below.
o Progressive changes in the heart and blood vessels interfere with your body’s ability to control blood pressure.
o Your body cannot regulate its temperature as it could when you were younger. This can result in dangerously low body temperature from prolonged exposure to the cold or in heat stroke if the outside temperature is too high.
o There may be aging-related changes in your body’s ability to develop a fever in response to an infection.
o The regulation of the amount and makeup of body fluids is slowed down in healthy older persons. Usual (resting) levels of the hormones that control the amount of body fluids are unchanged, but problems in fluid regulation commonly develop during illness or other stress. Also, elderly people don’t feel as thirsty after water deprivation as they did when younger.
What do these age-related changes in our body systems mean?
o First, with advancing age, we become less like each other biologically, so our health care needs to be more individualized.
o Body systems that can be minimally affected by age are often profoundly influenced by lifestyle behaviors such as cigarette smoking, physical activity, and nutritional intake, and by circumstances such as financial means.
o Finally, it’s helpful to consider ahead of time our possible choices in case certain situations arise. For example, if you become less physically able to take part in an athletic activity you did before, is there a different activity you might enjoy? Are there things you might like to do to keep your mind active? More serious situations to consider might include death of a spouse, or if you find your abilities becoming more and more limited. Have you discussed how you would like to handle such situations and your wishes with your family?
It is important to remember that the ability to learn and adjust continues throughout life and is strongly influenced by interests, activities, and motivation. With years of rich experience and reflection, we can rise above our own circumstances. Old age, despite the physical limitations, can be a time of variety, creativity, and fulfillment.
Check out this health secrets that billion dollor health industry don't want you to know!
o Genetic and Environmental Factors
+ Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors
o Cellular Changes Associated with Aging
o Bodily Changes Associated with Aging
+ Changes in Height
+ Changes in Weight
+ Changes in Body Composition
o Other Changes with Aging
+ Normal Aging and Disease
+ Changes in the Regulation of Body Systems
Genetic and Environmental Factors
The aging process depends on a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. Recognizing that every individual has his or her own unique genetic makeup and environment, which interact with each other, helps us understand why the aging process can occur at such different rates in different people. Overall, genetic factors seem to be more powerful than environmental factors in determining the large differences among people in aging and lifespan. There are even some specific genetic disorders that speed up the aging process, such as Hutchinson-Gilford, Werner’s, and Down syndromes. However, many environmental conditions, such as the quality of health care that you receive, have a substantial effect on aging. A healthy lifestyle is an especially important factor in healthy aging and longevity (see Prevention). These environmental factors can significantly extend lifespan.
Behaviors of a Healthy Lifestyle
o Not smoking
o Drinking alcohol in moderation
o Exercising
o Getting adequate rest
o Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables
o Coping with stress
o Having a positive outlook
Cellular Changes Associated with Aging
Aging causes functional changes in cells. For example, the rate at which cells multiply tends to slow down as we age. Certain cells that are important for our immune system to work properly (called T-cell lymphocytes) also decrease with age. In addition, age causes changes in our responses to environmental stresses or exposures, such as ultraviolet light, heat, not enough oxygen, poor nutrition, and toxins (poisons) among others.
Age also interferes with an important process called apoptosis, which programs cells to self-destruct or die at appropriate times. This process is necessary for tissues to remain healthy, and it is especially important in slowing down immune responses once an infection has been cleared from the body.
Different diseases that are common in elderly people can affect this process in different ways. For example, cancer results in a loss of apoptosis. The cancer cells continue to multiply and invade or take over surrounding tissue, instead of dying as originally programmed. Other diseases may cause cells to die too early. In Alzheimer’s disease, a substance called amyloid builds up and causes the early death of brain cells, which results in a progressive loss of memory and other brain functions. Toxins produced as byproducts of nerve-cell transmissions are also thought to be involved in the death of nerve cells in Parkinson’s disease.
Bodily Changes Associated with Aging
Our bodies normally change in appearance as we age.
Changes in Height
We all lose height as we age, although when the height loss begins and how quickly it progresses vary quite a bit among different people. Generally, our height increases until our late forties and then decreases about two inches by age 80. The reasons for height loss include the following:
* changes in posture
* changes in the growth of vertebrae (the bones that make up the spine)
* a forward bending of the spine
* compression of the discs between the vertebrae
* increased curvature of the hips and knees
* decreased joint space in the trunk and extremities
* joint changes in the feet
* flattening of the arches
The length of the bones in our legs does not change much.
Changes in Weight
In men, body weight generally increases until their mid-fifties; then it decreases, with weight being lost faster in their late sixties and seventies. In women, body weight increases until the late sixties and then decreases at a rate slower than that of men.
People that live in less technologically developed societies do not show this pattern of weight change. This suggests that reduced physical activity and changes in eating habits may be causes of the change in body weight rather than the aging process.
Changes in Body Composition
The proportion of the body that is made up of fat doubles between age 25 and age 75. Exercise programs may prevent or reverse much of the proportional decrease in muscle mass and increase in total body fat. This change in body composition is important to consider in nutritional planning and level of activity. The change in body composition also has an important effect on how the body handles various drugs. For example, when our body fat increases, drugs that are dissolved in fatty tissues remain in the body much longer than when our body was younger and more muscular.
Other Changes with Aging
Normal aging in the absence of disease is a remarkably benign process. In other words, our body can remain healthy as we age. Although our organs may gradually lose some function, we may not even notice these changes except during periods of great exertion or stress. We may also experience slower reaction times.
Normal Aging and Disease
Aging and disease are related in subtle and complex ways. Several conditions that were once thought to be part of normal aging have now been shown to be due to disease processes that can be influenced by lifestyle. For example, heart and blood vessel diseases are more common in people who eat a lot of meat and fat. Similarly, cataract formation in the eye largely depends on the amount of exposure to direct sunlight.
We should remember that there is a range of individual response to aging. Biologic and chronologic ages are not the same. In addition, body systems do not age at the same rate within any individual. For example, you might have severe arthritis or loss of vision while the function of your heart or kidneys is excellent. Even those aging changes that are considered "usual" or "normal" are not inevitable consequences of aging.
Changes in the Regulation of Body Systems
The way our body regulates certain systems changes with age. Some examples are listed below.
o Progressive changes in the heart and blood vessels interfere with your body’s ability to control blood pressure.
o Your body cannot regulate its temperature as it could when you were younger. This can result in dangerously low body temperature from prolonged exposure to the cold or in heat stroke if the outside temperature is too high.
o There may be aging-related changes in your body’s ability to develop a fever in response to an infection.
o The regulation of the amount and makeup of body fluids is slowed down in healthy older persons. Usual (resting) levels of the hormones that control the amount of body fluids are unchanged, but problems in fluid regulation commonly develop during illness or other stress. Also, elderly people don’t feel as thirsty after water deprivation as they did when younger.
What do these age-related changes in our body systems mean?
o First, with advancing age, we become less like each other biologically, so our health care needs to be more individualized.
o Body systems that can be minimally affected by age are often profoundly influenced by lifestyle behaviors such as cigarette smoking, physical activity, and nutritional intake, and by circumstances such as financial means.
o Finally, it’s helpful to consider ahead of time our possible choices in case certain situations arise. For example, if you become less physically able to take part in an athletic activity you did before, is there a different activity you might enjoy? Are there things you might like to do to keep your mind active? More serious situations to consider might include death of a spouse, or if you find your abilities becoming more and more limited. Have you discussed how you would like to handle such situations and your wishes with your family?
It is important to remember that the ability to learn and adjust continues throughout life and is strongly influenced by interests, activities, and motivation. With years of rich experience and reflection, we can rise above our own circumstances. Old age, despite the physical limitations, can be a time of variety, creativity, and fulfillment.
Check out this health secrets that billion dollor health industry don't want you to know!
Beat The Clock?
What exactly is behind the process of ageing? More importantly - can we slow things down a bit?
Blame ageing mainly on those three little letters: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
When we are young and healthy, free of disease and saggy bits, our DNA, which forms the building blocks of life, is healthy and functions as smoothly as a newly serviced car.
The DNA molecules in the nucleus of every cell are bombarded by baddies. Some are from the environment and some are from inside our bodies – and either way, these assaults cause some of the important bonds in these molecules to break.
The good news is that every cell in our bodies has a full army of enzymes available to counteract these breaks, and to repair the DNA. But the bad news: when the damage happens at a faster pace than the repair, the harm become apparent. So as the years creep on, much depends on just how our DNA manages to repair the damage effectively, and in time.
The popular US science magazine, Scientific American, summed it up well when it described ageing as the result of “…the accumulation of random damage to the building blocks of life… that begins early in life and eventually exceeds the body’s self-repair capabilities…”
Science fights back
Happily, scientists have accumulated the evidence required to connect many of the dots between random damage, DNA, the body’s self-repair capabilities, degenerative disease and ageing.
They have found that while we cannot stop the creep of time we can do something about how we age.
Researchers have found that several factors play a role in the random damage to DNA, and that there is a protein complex – called NFkB (Nuclear
Factor kappa B) – which takes centre stage in controlling the damage. NFkB regulates a variety of cellular responses, including immune and inflammatory responses, cell survival and cell protection.
It is when the NFkB misfires that things go wrong, and we could be looking at cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, artherosclerosis, diabetes, inflammatory and auto-immune diseases, viral infections, ageing and a growing list of disorders.
The world takes notice
Dr Nicholas Perricone, whose patient list includes Hollywood stars like Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Willis, is one of the US’s prominent anti-ageing practitioners.
Some years back, he produced a work entitled “Inflammation Theory of Ageing”. Suddenly, Oprah (and thus the world) took notice of just how damaging inflammation can be on cell survival. The Perricone Diet, which promotes the avoidance of foods that cause a spike in blood sugar levels, is based on his theory.
So, if we know so much, just how does ageing, the result of insufficient DNA repair, come about? Here’s how it happens:
The four steps in DNA damage and ageing
Visualise the processes involved in ageing as four (ultimately fatal) strikes by the enemy.
Strike 1 = Random day-to-day DNA damage.
This is caused by oxidative stress (leading to increased levels of free radicals), environmental pollution, ultraviolet rays, cigarette smoke, trans fatty acids and other unhealthy ingredients in your diet, exercise, stress and other factors.
Strike 2 = Ineffective DNA repair mechanisms.
A powerful set of enzymes such as endonucleases, exonucleases, polymerases and ligases work together 24/7 to remove harmful lesions in DNA, caused by the above as well as metabolic mistakes. As long the repairs happen as quickly as the damage occurs, you stay healthy and free of disease.
But this doesn’t happen. The rate of DNA repair is now known to be a reliable predictor of your lifespan. Scientists have repeatedly been able to demonstrate that an animal’s lifespan is predicted by its ability to carry out DNA repair.
Rodents, for example, live only a couple of years compared to humans, who manage to reach 90 years quite easily. Humans also have 16 times the DNA repair capacity of rodents.
The reason slowing repair functions matter, is because if DNA damage exceeds the rate of self-repair, DNA lesions will be copied to the next generation of cells. With each subsequent cell division, these lesions will be copied into the next cell, and the next, creating a proliferation of cells with DNA defects.
Strike 3 = Defective DNA may lead to, or trigger unwanted processes.
Even the slightest change to the DNA may have an effect on the body, usually in the form of disease.
Since DNA has a very specific sequence of nucleotide building blocks, which provide very specific codes for very specific proteins, the loss or addition of one single nucleotide, due to insufficient repair, may change the code completely.
This may lead to the non-production of an essential protein or substance, or it may activate dormant, malignant cellular processes.
Strike 4 = One such an effect is the aberrant activation of NFkB.
We know NFkB is the key regulator of a variety of cellular responses listed above, as well viral infections, ageing or any of a growing number of disorders. If NFkB in the skin is activated after sun exposure, wrinkles will follow, even melanoma. If it is activated in the lungs after exposure to cigarette smoke, emphysema or lung cancer may follow.
What can you do?
There are many preventative measures: stop smoking, avoid foods that contain “bad” fats (saturated and trans fats), take supplements to limit the creation of free radicals in your body when exercising, use sunblock to protect your skin against UV-exposure.
The ultimate step, of course, would be enhanced DNA repair which would automatically lead to NFkB inhibition. Massive amounts of money is being thrown at research in an ongoing attempt to create a product to stop the clock and prevent the diseases of ageing.
False promises abound. Only when science can explain and show that a product can lead to DNA repair, and find ways to measure the extent of this repair in DNA trials, can they actually claim they have decoded the mechanism to halt ageing.
The truth is the ageing process is not yet fully understood and scientists have yet to discover the magic formula to keep us youthful and vital.
“Anti-ageing medicine has become a fast-growing discipline and will be the medicine of the future,” says Dr Geraldine Mitton, an integrated medicine and anti-ageing practitioner based in Cape Town. In her book, Dr Geraldine Mitton’s Anti-Ageing Handbook – Practical Steps to Staying Youthful, she says the trick is to concentrate on extending our healthspan rather than our lifespan.
“Essentially, what we want is to live healthily, with a good quality of life, for as long as possible.”
Check out this health secret link that the billion dollar health industry don't want you to know!
Blame ageing mainly on those three little letters: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
When we are young and healthy, free of disease and saggy bits, our DNA, which forms the building blocks of life, is healthy and functions as smoothly as a newly serviced car.
The DNA molecules in the nucleus of every cell are bombarded by baddies. Some are from the environment and some are from inside our bodies – and either way, these assaults cause some of the important bonds in these molecules to break.
The good news is that every cell in our bodies has a full army of enzymes available to counteract these breaks, and to repair the DNA. But the bad news: when the damage happens at a faster pace than the repair, the harm become apparent. So as the years creep on, much depends on just how our DNA manages to repair the damage effectively, and in time.
The popular US science magazine, Scientific American, summed it up well when it described ageing as the result of “…the accumulation of random damage to the building blocks of life… that begins early in life and eventually exceeds the body’s self-repair capabilities…”
Science fights back
Happily, scientists have accumulated the evidence required to connect many of the dots between random damage, DNA, the body’s self-repair capabilities, degenerative disease and ageing.
They have found that while we cannot stop the creep of time we can do something about how we age.
Researchers have found that several factors play a role in the random damage to DNA, and that there is a protein complex – called NFkB (Nuclear
Factor kappa B) – which takes centre stage in controlling the damage. NFkB regulates a variety of cellular responses, including immune and inflammatory responses, cell survival and cell protection.
It is when the NFkB misfires that things go wrong, and we could be looking at cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, artherosclerosis, diabetes, inflammatory and auto-immune diseases, viral infections, ageing and a growing list of disorders.
The world takes notice
Dr Nicholas Perricone, whose patient list includes Hollywood stars like Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Willis, is one of the US’s prominent anti-ageing practitioners.
Some years back, he produced a work entitled “Inflammation Theory of Ageing”. Suddenly, Oprah (and thus the world) took notice of just how damaging inflammation can be on cell survival. The Perricone Diet, which promotes the avoidance of foods that cause a spike in blood sugar levels, is based on his theory.
So, if we know so much, just how does ageing, the result of insufficient DNA repair, come about? Here’s how it happens:
The four steps in DNA damage and ageing
Visualise the processes involved in ageing as four (ultimately fatal) strikes by the enemy.
Strike 1 = Random day-to-day DNA damage.
This is caused by oxidative stress (leading to increased levels of free radicals), environmental pollution, ultraviolet rays, cigarette smoke, trans fatty acids and other unhealthy ingredients in your diet, exercise, stress and other factors.
Strike 2 = Ineffective DNA repair mechanisms.
A powerful set of enzymes such as endonucleases, exonucleases, polymerases and ligases work together 24/7 to remove harmful lesions in DNA, caused by the above as well as metabolic mistakes. As long the repairs happen as quickly as the damage occurs, you stay healthy and free of disease.
But this doesn’t happen. The rate of DNA repair is now known to be a reliable predictor of your lifespan. Scientists have repeatedly been able to demonstrate that an animal’s lifespan is predicted by its ability to carry out DNA repair.
Rodents, for example, live only a couple of years compared to humans, who manage to reach 90 years quite easily. Humans also have 16 times the DNA repair capacity of rodents.
The reason slowing repair functions matter, is because if DNA damage exceeds the rate of self-repair, DNA lesions will be copied to the next generation of cells. With each subsequent cell division, these lesions will be copied into the next cell, and the next, creating a proliferation of cells with DNA defects.
Strike 3 = Defective DNA may lead to, or trigger unwanted processes.
Even the slightest change to the DNA may have an effect on the body, usually in the form of disease.
Since DNA has a very specific sequence of nucleotide building blocks, which provide very specific codes for very specific proteins, the loss or addition of one single nucleotide, due to insufficient repair, may change the code completely.
This may lead to the non-production of an essential protein or substance, or it may activate dormant, malignant cellular processes.
Strike 4 = One such an effect is the aberrant activation of NFkB.
We know NFkB is the key regulator of a variety of cellular responses listed above, as well viral infections, ageing or any of a growing number of disorders. If NFkB in the skin is activated after sun exposure, wrinkles will follow, even melanoma. If it is activated in the lungs after exposure to cigarette smoke, emphysema or lung cancer may follow.
What can you do?
There are many preventative measures: stop smoking, avoid foods that contain “bad” fats (saturated and trans fats), take supplements to limit the creation of free radicals in your body when exercising, use sunblock to protect your skin against UV-exposure.
The ultimate step, of course, would be enhanced DNA repair which would automatically lead to NFkB inhibition. Massive amounts of money is being thrown at research in an ongoing attempt to create a product to stop the clock and prevent the diseases of ageing.
False promises abound. Only when science can explain and show that a product can lead to DNA repair, and find ways to measure the extent of this repair in DNA trials, can they actually claim they have decoded the mechanism to halt ageing.
The truth is the ageing process is not yet fully understood and scientists have yet to discover the magic formula to keep us youthful and vital.
“Anti-ageing medicine has become a fast-growing discipline and will be the medicine of the future,” says Dr Geraldine Mitton, an integrated medicine and anti-ageing practitioner based in Cape Town. In her book, Dr Geraldine Mitton’s Anti-Ageing Handbook – Practical Steps to Staying Youthful, she says the trick is to concentrate on extending our healthspan rather than our lifespan.
“Essentially, what we want is to live healthily, with a good quality of life, for as long as possible.”
Check out this health secret link that the billion dollar health industry don't want you to know!
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