AntiAgingByDesign.com

Featuring:  Diet Soda May Increase Appetite?, Raising Good Cholesterol, Mercury widespread, Anti-Aging Stress-Free Workout.

There are quite a few Anti-Aging related pieces of news delivered, in different formats, every week.  When you think about it, most every piece of ‘health related’ news is also Anti-Aging news.

The decisions we make in regard to our body – what we feed it (or don’t feed it), what we put on it, the stress we allow in our lives, the amount of exercise or rest we get on a consistent basis, what we are doing to build better health – will all help determine how we age.

Some news items I read or view hit me harder than others.  Some I do further research on if it applies to me, as I am sure that you do if you think you can benefit.  My readers may have missed many or all of the news or views I post here in this new Saturday column.. or maybe life at the moment kept you from absorbing the information and how it can relate to your life.

My goal is to pass along the information.  You decide if it is something relevant enough in your own life to research further (even though we may find a lot of junk on the internet, Google also provides us with a tremendous amount of valuable information – over time you learn to quickly spot the good and disregard the unreputable when you search).

1)  Diet Soda May Increase Appetite?

I have heard this before.. multiple times, but primarily in my natural nutrition circle of friends and news.  Last weekend there was a short article in USA Weekend and I think it is going to get even more exposure.  The problem is that news like this is up against a huge soft drink industry.  Still, if it matters to our health we should at least hear about the issues in order to be better informed to make personal decisions.

The article talked about how drinking sugar-sweetened sodas being linked to weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes.  It also stated that “drinking diet sodas with artificial sweeteners may increase appetite rather than suppress it.”  I remember hearing a while back that diet sodas can make you crave carbs.  There is also new research out that shows noncaloric food (diet foods) and (diet) beverages deregulate our innate ability to judge caloric intake.  So either way – we crave or we simply don’t realize how much we’re eating, we may be drinking soda without calories but then eating more.

Many people think they are making the better decision by choosing diet soda over regular soda, however the truth is that neither have ingredients that are good for us.  They are loaded with artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup (sugar sweetener with little or no nutrition and lots of calories), caffeine, or other chemicals.

Who likes to read information like this on a soda label:  “not a significant source of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.”  Last, (see link below for source of part of this information) if this news has you not wanting to drink any soda that you have around the house, it doesn’t have to go to waste.  “According to numerous household cleaning Web sites, soda can clean your toilet, eliminate rust from a car bumper and remove grease from clothing. We’re not kidding!”

Sources:  USA Weekend, October 23-25, 2009, and http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/the-truth-about-soda-soda-bad-you.html?pageNum=1.

2)  Raising Good Cholesterol

There is an Ask the Doctor column in my local newspaper.  One reader asked this week how to raise his good cholesterol (HDL).  He stated that even with regular exercise and other healthy lifestyle choices he practiced that his HDL had not been improved.  He wanted to avoid medication (I don’t blame him with the side effects they have – to me it’s worth researching natural alternatives if not a life-threatening issue).

The doctor replied that high levels of good cholesterol help protect people from heart disease and that men should target levels of 40 mg/dL or greater and women, 50 or higher.  He said that exercise needs to be somewhat rigorous in order to affect the good cholesterol levels, and that substituting better oils like olive, soy or flaxseed over butter can help increase HDL.

The man also reported that he drinks a glass of wine almost every night.  The doctor stated that red wine is another HDL booster.  Other natural (lifestyle) choices discussed were to stay away from trans fats and saturated fats, avoid refined carbohydrates (white sugar and flour), and eat better food choices like walnuts, peanuts, almonds, tuna, mackerel, and trout.

Meds were discussed briefly, and primarily pointed out that cholesterol meds can bring up HDL but if the person was taking a statin drug, he or she would have to be prescribed a med that didn’t interfere.

3)  Mercury widespread – reported in Government Study

Our local newspaper alerted me to this mercury study and I would think it is accessible in your favorite news site online.  The bottom line is that no fish can escape mercury pollution.  This is an issue of concern because on the one hand we are told we should eat more fish because it is healthy for us.  On the other hand we have the issue of contaminants in our fish.  If we eat too much, will we lose the health benefits by creating a problem that didn’t already exist?

The federal study tested fish from about 300 streams across the country.  Mercury was found in every fish sample, and that finding shows how widespread pollution of this toxic substance is.  The article also said that previous research showed mercury in fish from Canada, isolated areas of Alaska, and in fish that live in the deep ocean.

What can we do if we want to get enough of the benefits of fish without eating too much fish?  We can take a natural fish oil supplement that is tested to be pure – many doctors are recommending fish oil supplements to their patients for different health benefits like heart health, inflammation due to various health issues, cholesterol regulation, as well as brain, vision, and joint function.  It is important to do your homework before choosing a brand of fish oil or any natural nutrition product.  All products are not created equal, they are not regulated, and it is up to the company to provide their quality assurance that the amounts on the label are in the bottle, that the formulation will be absorbed in your body, and that the ingredients are pure.

4)  Exercise:  Anti-Aging Stress-Free Workout

There are enough forms of exercise ‘out there’ that I should be able to feature something different, and of value every week.  Maybe you will see something new to you, or an updated form of something you did in the past and liked, or an exercise that will motivate you to be more consistent with a daily program.

Today I am featuring Dr. Oz with the mini trampolines.  I actually have one of these in my basement and enjoyed using it in the past.  Not sure why I stopped but this video has sparked me to get down there and get moving!

(There might be a message come up that says the video is not available – give it a few seconds and the video will start playing – not sure why it does this.)

Regular exercise is good (GREAT) for your Anti-Aging health!

——————–

Learn more about:  resveratrol (get 100 glasses of red wine in one teaspoon), fish oil, healthy low calorie shake (alternative to diet soda), energizing tea.

College Drinking.. it’s a reality. There is under-age drinking, excessive drinking, and reckless consequences happening on college campuses across the country. Those facts can be associated with up to 75% of college students. It’s not good for their health, and it may not be good for their future.

The good news is that 25% of college kids don’t drink. We hope that those numbers will increase, or at least that kids start to drink less and study more.

A very special thanks to Ken Healy for the valuable information he provided us.

Back to Main Blog

Rain forced the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk inside today but did not dampen the spirits of all who came out to support it. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Almost everyone knows someone affected by breast cancer or has had it touch their own life. Have a look at some local stories.

Thanks very much to everyone who talked with us today. Your participation is appreciated!

Back to Main Blog

Pro Care Health & Fitness Center scheduled events today on their ‘ProCare Turns Pink’ day – to support Breast Cancer Awareness. Physical activity along with healthy weight and healthy diet can provide many health benefits including lowering the risk of cancer. When we find an activity that we enjoy, we will be motivated to be consistent and have fun with it as well.

Thanks to all the folks at Pro Care for welcoming us in today, and a special thanks to Jim and Paula for the delicious (healthy) smoothie you provided.

Back to main blog

Make a Difference Day is this Saturday, but at Sr. Paula Delgrosso’s St. Vincent dePaul Food For Families Soup Kitchen in Altoona, PA, that is the spirit every day – five days per week year round.

Giving of your time or resources, in volunteer work, is primarily for the benefit of people who need the help. However, the volunteer also receives some healthy benefits: emotionally, mentally, and physically. In a study carried out at Purdue University, it was found that regular volunteers have better cardiovascular health as well as lower blood pressure than their non-volunteering counterparts. Significantly, they also had fewer signs of depression. It’s a great feeling when you see that what you’re helping with is making a difference.

A special thanks to Sr. Paula and all the folks at the Food for Families Soup Kitchen for taking the time to talk with us today.

We came away with the conviction that donations in action are what makes this soup kitchen so successful, even in tough economic times like we are experiencing now. The volunteers that come in to prepare and serve the food can see first hand the need for this service. Individuals and businesses that donate resources may visit to serve a meal, and they will see that there is absolutely no waste here. People only take what they will eat, and if they don’t finish their food at the meal, they take it home in cups that are donated by a local business. Empty trays are returned for cleaning by grateful folks who enjoyed a hot meal.

Back to Main Page of Blog

Do you winterize your body the same as you do your home and automobile? Let’s think about it. In the fall we make preparations for winter. It is a tradition to check filters on furnaces, get them cleaned, check the fireplace, put on storm windows, and even prepare the garden. We take care of our cars with tune ups to make sure they will run well all winter, add antifreeze, flush the radiator, and possibly buy new tires.

Do we tune up our bodies for the winter months? There are quite a few holidays and social gatherings coming that we want to be healthy for, and be able to fight off the germs, viruses, and bacteria that we are exposed to every day. Our bodies need the right nutrients to build strong immune systems that keep us healthy. If we don’t get enough of those nutrients in our diet, it’s time to look at supplements. Vitamins, minerals, and immune builders are proven to build better health.

The stresses of every day can wear us down throughout the year. The winter can maximize these struggles. Many of us don’t sleep as well as we should, or eat as well as we should. Too many of us curl up on the couch with the television instead of keeping up our regular exercise habits in the cold winter months.

Strong immune systems are essential in preventing illness. The cells of the immune system go into action as soon as a foreign substances like germs, viruses, fungi, and bacteria enter the body. In the winter we are sealed inside behind closed doors, with recirculated air, so it is easy to pass germs from one person to another. Our bodies have to be ready for these attacks and the immune system is our body’s first line of defense.

In addition to making a good effort to sleep well, eat well, get exercise, and manage the stress in our lives, the immune system can benefit from an immune builder taken daily year round.

Nutriferon is quite remarkable in that there are four published human clinical studies that support the efficacy of NutriFeron. In addition, a new laboratory study confirms that NutriFeron ingredients are effective in impacting genetic pathways related to the activation, signaling, and proliferation of natural killer cells. NutriFeron’s exclusive and patented formula works hard to support the body’s built-in defenses to help keep you healthy, and is truly a revolutionary breakthrough in immune health.*

Also important to keep in mind: You should make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D. Intrigued by the recent studies suggesting vitamin D is a key immune system player, NIH researchers examined blood vitamin D levels in the US population to see if there was any relationship to frequency of colds. Sure enough, the higher the blood level of vitamin D, the lower the frequency of reported upper respiratory tract infections. Those with the lowest vitamin D levels had a 36% increased risk of catching a cold when compared to those with the highest levels. The link was even stronger in those with existing respiratory conditions. For example, asthmatics with the lowest vitamin D status were nearly six times as vulnerable to colds as those with the highest vitamin D blood levels.

To learn more about Nutriferon, visit our increase immune system support page. For vitamin D3 levels in multi-vitamins, visit http://yourhealthwebsite.net.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Mrs. Hinish from Hinish Farm Market, Roaring Spring, PA, shared some tips on how to make delicious apple cider with the new apple harvest. An apple a day keeps the doctor away so the saying goes. With all the ways to enjoy apples, we should be in excellent shape.

Thanks to Mrs. Hinish for taking time from her busy schedule to talk with us today.

It was easy to observe how caring Mrs. Hinish was with her customers at the store. They are a family owned Orchard & Farm Market. They have their own apples available year round and grow sweet cherries, peaches, asparagus and lopes. There is an in house bakery that bakes daily offering fresh breads, pies and cookies. Hinish Farm Market has jellies, apple butter, dressings, crafts, and make custom fruit baskets.

Back to Main Page of Blog

Talk about a guy with passion.. actually two guys. Dr. Oz has a new show on television and he has been a regular part of the Oprah show for quite awhile. He is always entertaining and teaches us about health and wellness.

Gary Vaynerchuk is a successful wine business owner who I had the privilege of learning about this past week. I have been devouring his content online. He has a huge wine business, a wine tv website, his blog that teaches people about doing business online (some great info that has caught my attention), a media company, and other businesses. He is on a personal mission to buy the New York Jets (seriously) and I certainly admire the drive that will someday have him accomplish that!

This video combines Dr. Oz’s lesson about how taste can be associated with weight and Gary Vaynerchuk’s enjoyable presentation about letting your palate experience the different tastes in wines (he did this on shows like the Today Show, Conan O’Brien, Ellen and was funny each time).

I don’t know about you, but I know quite a few ‘picky eaters’ who I now know are super tasters! I guess it is good that many I know also like tomato sauce, at least in the form of pasta sauce, and I support the recommendation that a multi-vitamin is most important for super tasters!

Why do we choose to live a healthy lifestyle and feel great – energized – every day? I think it is to pursue our passions and purpose in life.. the things we really care about.

Lots of people just try to ‘get through’ their workday and then live for what they really like to do. I hope that is not the case for you, because if you do love your job, all day – every day – at work and at home – you will be filled with passion, driven to take good care of yourself for right now, and be building great health for your future so that you have quality of life as you age.

This blog has an exciting new direction. In addition to posting info about health and wellness, we are going to post videos that we shoot ourselves.. of people living their lives.. at work.. at play.. pursuing their passions, or lifestyle choices that have made a difference in their lives. We hope you enjoy the stories and we welcome your comments and feedback.

We will also post videos that you may have missed online and that have a relevant message. They will be educational, enlightening or entertaining. If you know someone who can benefit from what you see here, please pass it on by email, Twitter it, or share on your favorite social website.

We shot two videos today.. timely events with local business owners and their fall (season) stories.  We will put them online after a video that I found yesterday and wanted to share.

We encourage you to take advantage of the ‘email a question’ section at the top left.. if you have a health challenge or natural nutrition question, send it to us!

I read a statement today that makes a lot of sense. It talked about how prevention is the best answer we have for the health crisis that we face in the United States. It goes on to say that it is getting to be impossible to continue to pay to treat disease.

We hear in the news every day about how our government leaders are trying to pass a new health care plan. While that is a priority, the illness and disease in this country is the crisis. What is most frustrating to me is that science has given us a lot of choices in the way of prevention. We have learned how to build health and what is good for us and what is not. The problem is that many of us continue to ignore the research and studies that can keep us well.

Many people don’t eat right or take the supplements needed for optimal nutrition, don’t get enough rest, don’t exercise enough, and don’t manage stress. This can make us sick. We have answers and yet we don’t use them to build health.

The World Bank has stated that the single greatest investment to eliminate poverty would be an investment in nutrition. They are also advocating plant based protein sources as the most sustainable.

Prevention can make all the difference in terms of health care in our country. Health care costs could be drastically reduced if people focused more on prevention and healthy lifestyles. We now have access to clinical studies that can verify proven results and help us make the right choices that will help us be healthier.

Shaklee recently raised the amount of Vitamin D3 in their multi-vitamin products and daily nutrition foundation programs. The company’s research was so impressive to the scientific community that it was accepted for publication by a very prestigious, peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Clinical Lipidology without any revisions. Shaklee determined the amount required in supplement form in order for the body to have optimal levels of activated vitamin D in the blood. Optimal Vitamin D3 levels also have an effect on HDL levels by raising them and also decreasing the risk of metabolic syndrome which is a precursor to diabetes and a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Other exciting news is the Vivix Study that was done at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The complete results are pending publication and can’t be released until after that time, but the list of health-building cellular activities with our brand of resveratrol + polyphenols includes heart and brain health, cardiovascular function, enhanced immunity, and joint health. We do know that the key regulator of cellular defense and survival of cells is able to successfully do its work with the polyphenol blend.

How’s this for a combo? We have one part to help us repair cells and eliminate ‘gunk’ from our bodies, and then we have the supplement ‘food’ that goes right to our cells to build health. A win-win combination in my eyes.

Science continues to give us valuable information in terms of health and wellness. It is still our individual choice to make the daily decision to take care of our bodies and build great health both for now and for a longer, better quality life ahead.