3 key ways to keep your health....

Today's post: Monday, 1-5-2009

We’ve done several posts on key ways to protect your health or to live longer.

But a recent health article In Early to Rise had two key ways to protect your health that I decided to do a post on and comment on and add a third one that is as important if not more so.

Here’s the ETR article first from their 12-31-2008 issue.

"This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com."

“Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever - Resolution #9:
Improve Your Health in 2 Simple Steps

By Jon Herring

Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope you are taking the time to set some goals and make plans for the year ahead.

Considering the turmoil in the economy, I understand if your primary concerns are to protect your wealth, boost your earning power, and increase your financial independence. But if you want to achieve all of that (and certainly if you want to enjoy it), you must also focus on your health.

When your mental and physical health are in top form, your thinking improves… you have more creativity and energy… you are more confident… your relationships get stronger… and your success is an inspiration to those around you.

When your health is at its best, your skin maintains its youthful appearance. You have fewer aches and pains. Your immune system protects you from illness. And your body naturally sheds fat, leaving a leaner, fitter you staring back from the mirror.

So I urge you to make the strongest commitment to regaining or maintaining your health and fitness this year. The great news is that it is not complicated and it doesn’t require toil and sacrifice. In this article, I will share with you two very simple things you can do that will make a PROFOUND impact.

It doesn’t matter whether your goal is to lose weight… heal a condition… reduce pain and inflammation … improve your appearance… have more energy and stamina… live longer… break free of prescription drugs… or just feel well again… the following two steps will help you achieve it!

Step #1 - Eat a Low-Glycemic Diet

The first and most important step you should take is to strictly limit the amount of sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates in your diet. Carbs that are high on the glycemic index are rapidly converted to glucose in your system. This raises your blood sugar levels and requires a rush of insulin to shuttle the glucose molecules into the muscles where they can be used as fuel.

Here’s why that is a bad thing: Perpetually elevated blood sugar and insulin levels lead to premature aging, wide swings in mood and energy, reduced immunity, and chronic inflammation. Not to mention a much higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and more.

Insulin is also the hormone that controls fat storage. If you want to convert your body to a perpetual fat-burning state, you must keep your insulin and blood sugar levels low. For many people, controlling insulin levels by eating a low-glycemic diet can produce nearly effortless weight loss.

High-glycemic foods that you should limit or avoid include starchy carbohydrates - potatoes, flour, rice, pasta, corn, cereal, bread and other grain products (even whole grains), and baked goods. If you can’t live without bread, tortillas, and cereal, look for Ezekiel 4:9 organic sprouted grain products made by Food for Life. They are all low-glycemic and taste great.

You should also strictly limit the amount of sugar in your diet. In one form or another, sugar is in most foods. And it is a primary culprit in our epidemics of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Read the labels and try to avoid anything with more than 10 grams per serving.

And don’t use artificial sweeteners. They can damage your health - and there are better alternatives. If you wish to sweeten foods and drinks or make your own desserts at home, use sweeteners like erythritol and stevia (or agave nectar, in moderation).

With these all-natural ingredients, you can make low-glycemic desserts that are perfectly healthy and taste even better than those made with sugar.

Step #2 - Balance Your Omega-3 to Omega-6 Ratio

The second highly important step you must take to improve your health and longevity, lose weight, and slow down the aging process is to balance your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.

Omega-3s and omega-6s are known as essential fatty acids. They are essential to every cell in your body, and they must be consumed in your diet. Your body cannot manufacture them. However, while omega-6 fats are essential in small amounts, they actually promote disease when consumed in unnaturally large amounts.

Based on our evolutionary history, the ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet is 1:1. Our ancestors evolved over millions of years eating that way. However, our modern diet has skewed the ratio significantly.

A hundred years ago, the average American ate less than one pound of vegetable oil per year. Today, the average American eats more than 75 pounds of these polyunsaturated omega-6 fats each year. So, instead of the ideal 1:1 ratio, most people consume anywhere from 20 to 50 times more omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids!

This is a prescription for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cataracts, infertility, skin wrinkles, and much more. The twofold solution is very simple:

• First, reduce - as much as possible - the omega-6 fatty acids in your diet.

Strictly limit vegetable and seed oils - corn oil, soy, canola, safflower, and sunflower oils. You should also avoid fried and processed foods. Potato chips, baked goods, salad dressings, margarine, shortening, etc. all contain vegetable oils and high levels of omega-6 fats.

Replace any vegetable oils you currently use with extra virgin olive oil, organic grass-fed butter, and organic unrefined coconut oil.

Conventionally raised meats are also much higher in omega-6 fatty acids than meat from animals raised on their natural diet. Cattle raised on corn, for example, have a much, much higher ratio of omega-6 fatty acids in their meat than cattle raised on a natural diet of grass. Grass-fed beef is generally very rich in beneficial omega-3s. Buy organic, naturally raised meats whenever possible. (U.S. Wellness Meats is a multi-family run business that takes great care of their customers.)

• Second, boost your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in very few foods, which is why most of the population is deficient. This is a shame, because omega-3s are one of the most beneficial nutrients in the human diet. Hundreds of published studies show that optimal omega-3 levels can greatly improve your overall health, optimize your weight, increase your energy, and help you retain mental function as you age. Omega-3s also reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and depression. And they can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, hyperactivity, diabetes, digestive disorders, and a host of other conditions.

While you can get omega-3s from flaxseeds and walnuts, these plant sources contain only the fatty acid ALA. The best omega-3 fats are those found in fish - DHA and EPA. Your brain is highly dependent on DHA. Low DHA levels have been linked to depression, memory loss, and a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Wild Alaskan salmon (not farm-raised) is one of the best food sources of these fats. But your best bet is to take a fish oil (not cod liver oil) supplement. I recommend Carlson’s Lemon Flavored. I find it’s easier to take from the bottle, rather than swallowing capsules.

That’s it!

1. Eat a low glycemic diet, and

2. Balance your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.

And you will have taken two of the most important steps toward a lean, fit body and a lifetime of health.

Of course, that’s not all there is to it. You should also break a sweat on a regular basis. You should eat a varied, natural diet of whole foods, and avoid chemicals and preservatives. Drink plenty of purified water every day. And allow your body to rest peacefully at night.

It doesn’t matter what your age or prior bad habits… or how overweight and unhealthy you might feel at the moment. You can experience a higher level of fitness and the profound sense of well-being that comes with it - and you can accomplish it this year!

Make 2009 the healthiest and most successful year of your life!

[Ed. Note: Following Health Editor Jon Herring's recommendations isn't difficult - and it can have a profound effect on your life. But don't worry. It doesn't mean eating boring, tasteless food. You can enjoy low-glycemic desserts that are delicious and healthy with the help of Jon's wife, Kelley. A nutrition expert herself, Kelley Herring has created Guilt-Free Desserts - a book full of easy-to-make, mouthwateringly delicious, 100% healthy recipes you can make at home. ….]”

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Following Jon’s first step will help you prevent being too fat and getting type 2 diabetes and help prevent both age onset mental decline and Alzheimer’s disease. It also can help you lose excess fat you already have or fight back if you get type II diabetes.

Following Jon’s second step will help you avoid extra aches and pains; recover from injuries more easily; and strongly reduce your risk of heart and other cardiovascular diseases by reducing your triglyceride level. (So does his step one and my step three below.)

My step 3 that he mentions briefly is as important as his two steps so I thought it should be included here.:

Step 3 Get regular exercise every week.

(Progressive strength training and interval cardio every week is ideal.)

Doing this adds to all of the benefits of the first two steps! In addition, this kind of regular exercise has been shown to help you live many more healthy years and live longer. And, it reliably improves the sex lives of both men AND women.

Such exercise is particularly good at triggering growth hormones and sex hormones. And it strongly helps you prevent or treat type 2 diabetes, avoid being too fat, and increases your HDL level, which combined with lowering your triglycerides, sharply lowers your risk of heart disease.

By doing all three steps, you can dramatically improve and strongly protect your health.

There are many other things you can do from not smoking or being around people while they smoke to always using a seat belt, but these 3 steps combined have astonishing power.

My other comments.:

I know someone with type 2 diabetes. All refined grain foods spike her blood sugar as measured by her actual blood sugar levels right after eating them. Unfortunately do most whole grain breads. Old fashioned cooked oatmeal does not do so. AND, except for their raisin bread, none of the Ezekiel 4:9 organic sprouted grain products made by Food for Life spike her blood sugar. Her blood tests prove it. (Ezekiel 4:9 organic sprouted grain products made by Food for Life are sold at Whole Food Markets.)

Make a strong special effort to avoid all refined grain foods. They spike your blood sugar more than sugar itself and contain omega 6 oils. So avoiding all refined grain foods helps you do both Jon’s step one and step two.

And, the foods made with refined grain foods often have added sugar, salt, omega 6 oils and sometimes even transfats. Plus they are often served with other foods that have such ingredients or with soft drinks.

So by eating some whole grain foods and abundant “real” foods such as vegetables and some wild caught fish and beef fed only grass instead, you will follow Jon’s two steps AND have much less excess body fat. You’ll also be far less likely to get type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

To follow Jon’s step’s 1 & 2, it also helps a lot to avoid ALL soft drinks. Regular soft drinks spike your blood sugar and fatten you WITHOUT making you less hungry. And, diet soft drinks have all the additives of regular soft drinks plus artificial sweeteners and make you much MORE hungry for food with real sugar. Both kinds of soft drinks make you fat and sick if you drink more than one or two a week as all too many people do now. And, since you will likely drink more than that if you drink any, my suggestion is to never drink them at all.

Clean water, water with carbonation only (“club soda”), tea, green tea, coffee, and real fruit juice in moderation are all dramatically better for you than soft drinks.

Also, extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, avocados and nuts if you are not allergic are a health OK or even health positive substitute for oils high in omega 6. They keep your HDL high and LDL low. And they have other health benefits. Using them instead of omega 6 oils or butter or margarine will both help you follow Jon’s step 2 and protect your health in several other ways.

Lastly, any health supporting efforts you do will be magnified in how much good they do you if you exercise well and safely every week. That’s why I decided to add doing that as a step 3 in the key ways to keep your health.