As I look at my little snowmen marching across my mantle, I cannot believe another year has passed.  The holiday season is upon us and I feel like summer had barely ended.

Is that what “getting old” does to us?   It doesn’t seem possible that the children in our lives are so grown up!  It makes me want to even more take the time to enjoy the present.

One thing for certain ~ I am paying more attention to ways I can improve and instill habits that will help me live healthier long into the future.  I loved this video by Dr. Oz where he shows us in just 7 minutes how we can get going.
I came across some interesting health trivia the other day ~

• At age 20, our health is affected by genetics 80%, by the environment 20%
• At age 30, genetics is a 50% factor in our health and the environment 50%
• But, by age 50, genetics is responsible for only 20% of our health ~ the environment and our lifestyle choices contributes 80% to our health!
• AND the average 50 year old weighs 15 to 20 pounds more than they did at 30

One of the things I have done consistently for the past 18 years is to take a protein shake each morning.  It is a complete meal for me (24 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, lactose free, non-GMO protein, gluten free, and low glycemic  index.  I often add frozen organic berries (which are filled with antioxidants and help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress).  At times I just mix it with water and add organic kale and berries for a “green shake.”

Taking a break in the afternoon with an Energy Tea Mix (I love my Pomegrante tea) is a great alternative to sugary snacks and coffee (particularly since I have had to give up coffee) for a quick energy lift.

Probably the most helpful addition to my diet has been to add a resveratrol and proprietary phytonutrient blend liquid dietary supplement each day.  I just learned that in a  well-designed human clinical study, (Cell Metabolism) researchers showed that taking a resveratrol supplement for 30 days significantly lowered multiple markers associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other chronic diseases.  This was very exciting new to hear about.

Of course we all know that stress plays a big role not only in the breaking down of our immune system   According to Deepok Chopra, M.D., in his book, Ageless Body, Ageless Mind, most of the time our cells are occupied with renewal ~ roughly 90% of a cell’s energy normally goes to building new proteins and manufacturing new DNA and RNA.  When the brain perceives threat, however, the process of building is set aside.  Whatever you decide to do in fight-or-flight situations, your body needs a massive burst of energy to propel your muscles.  To allow this, the normal style of metabolism that builds the body, called anabolic metabolism, converts to its opposite, catabolic metabolism, which breaks down tissues.  This adrenaline launches a cascade of responses ~ blood pressure rises,  muscles tense, breathing becomes shallow and rapid, sexual desire and hunger are suppressed, digestion stops,  and the brain becomes hyperalert.  At times this stress response is vital, but if not terminated in time, Chopra states that the effects of catabolic metabolism are disastrous, leading to such illnesses as hypertension, ulcers, impotence, wasted muscles, and diabetes,  all of which are common signs of aging

I just recently learned that processed meats such as bacon, sausage and hot dogs, all of which contain nitrates, may be linked to Alzheimer’s.  Perhaps that “fake bacon” is not so bad after all?  In a society that eats half of its meals at fast-food stands and runs record-high rates of obesity,, alcoholism, eating disorders, and crash dieting, we can see that improper diet is clearly linked with disease and premature aging.  Choosing a diet consisting largely of plant-derived foods, with occasional bits of meat and fish,  along with nuts, seeds and grains and certainly eliminating sugar as much as possible (average American diet contains 130# of sugar per year) can help add to our healthy years.

My other “tool” to avoid aging too fast has been to take care of my skin.  I chose a product that was nutrient based, pH balanced, never animal tested, always hypoallergenic, with no Parabens, FD&C or D&C dyes, Propylene glycol, animal products or by-products, mineral oils or petrolatum, Sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate as well as no Phthalates.  As a result, my skin looks and feels great.

What about you ~ what are your “anti-aging tools?”  In closing I found this quote and found it very appropriate:

“People don’t grow old.  When they stop growing, they become old.”

Since we are at the beginning of a new year, I wanted to remind myself why I feel such a passion about the word prevention.  It truly motivates me.

I am one of those lucky few who have been able to reach my late 60′s without any drugs.  I attribute that to a decision I made 17 years ago to literally take control of my health myself.  When I read Dr. Frank Lipman’s statement about what it takes to prevent those familiar deadly chronic diseases such as diabetes 2 and heart disease, I realized what a wise decision that was.   I truly had become a “master of my own health,” simply by making a few lifestyle changes.

Dr. Frank Lipman, Integrative Physician, states, “In a true health care system, we must use modern western medicine for what it is good at -

(1)  crisis care

(2)  acute medical

(3)  surgical emergencies

and natural, non-toxic and non-invasive therapies whenever possible.

He further states that the most effective ways of preventing and treating most chronic diseases are:

(1)  Diet

(2)  Supplements

(3)  Exercise

(4)  Stress management and other benign modalities.

And herein lies the rub. Although guidance may be helpful, lifestyle changes can’t be imposed from above – they have to come from us.   There is no greater reward than being the master of our own health.”

With Americans spending more on health care every year than we do educating our children, building roads, even feeding ourselves, (an estimated $2.6 trillion in 2009, or around $8,300 per person), we need to begin taking personal responsibility for our own health and well-being, particularly when over 45 million Americans have no health insurance whatsoever.

Even the National Institutes of Health is advocating prevention. It has research that shows that type 2 diabetes..the most common kind of diabetes…is 100% preventable!  “It’s absolutely related to diet and lifestyle,” says Holly Lucille, ND, RN, a West Hollywood, California-based naturopathic physician.  “In fact, there have been clinical studies showing that diet alone can often be effective as a sole factor in treating and reversing diabetes.”

Losing a pound per week, a healthy, attainable goal, eating smaller meals throughout the day packed with dietary fiber (shown to slow the release of dietary glucose and increases tissue sensitivity to insulin) and walking just 30 minutes per day, five days per week, can reduce your chance of diabetes by 58%.  (57 million Americans have pre-diabetes, meaning their blood sugar is above normal and they’re at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes).

Another tip towards prevention is to watch your anxiety level.  Yoga, meditation, a nice long bath, or just a stroll out in nature can help eliminate unwanted stress.  When we get stressed  our blood pressure may rise,  and/or our body may release hormones that can increase insulin resistance, thus restricting the functioning of our pancreas.

I now look at prevention as my life insurance policy. I love spending time with my grandchildren and am so happy that I have the stamina to keep up with them.  When I was approaching my 50′s that was not the case.  I was not treating my body wisely.   Fortunately I took the time to educate myself about proper supplementation, diet and exercise and have never looked back.

I would love to see your comments on how practicing prevention is working for you.

Most of us will recognize that smiling  female celebrity on those tv commercials,  constantly reassuring us about the perfect remedy for our bone loss.    Not only is she a very popular television series star,  but a spokeswoman for Boniva, a bone-density drug.  The market for such drugs is now estimated at $3 billion.  Is it any wonder we are constantly hearing the drug companies pitches to us through all those television commercials?

Now patients and health care providers are being warned about a clear link between  thigh bone fractures  and the long term usage of bone-strengthening drugs called bisphosphonates, like Fosomax, Actonel and Boniva.

I wonder how Sally Field feels about this latest news. It makes me think about Dorothy Hamill and Bruce Jenner, well-known athletes  who endorsed Vioxx (a pain relief drug that was recalled due to patients on it having heart attacks).  And then there was Lauren Hutton endorsing hormone replacement therapy.  (When doctors learned of  the benefits of high estrogen levels given before menopause to help protect women against osteoporosis, it was not known until much later (and many prescriptions given out) that estrogen may also increase the risk of developing breast cancer, not a very good tradeoff).

What causes osteoporosis in the first place that would create such a market for drug companies? According to Dr. Dean Ornish, osteoporosis is a disease caused by bone demineralization (depletion of calcium).     Calcium deficiencies usually are caused by two factors:  too little calcium in the diet, or too much excretion of calcium in your urine.  If either of these occurs, then your body begins to absorb calcium out of your bones in order to maintain a constant calcium level in your bloodstream.  Over time, your bones can become demineralized (depleted of calcium), leading to osteoporosis.  If the bones become sufficiently depleted, they fracture more easily, even from everyday activities.

Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs created to reduce the rate of osteoporotic fractures…fractures that can result in pain,  hospitalization, and surgery…in people with osteoporosis.   According to RADM Sandra Keweder, M.D., deputy director, Office of New York Drugs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, “The FDA is continuing to evaluate data about the safety and effectiveness of bisphosphonates when used long-term for osteoporosis treatment.  In the interim, it’s important for patients and health care professionals to have all the safety information available when determining the best course of treatment for osteoporosis.”   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending a labeling change and Medication Guide, reflecting the risk of thigh bone (femoral) fractures for those using bisphosphonates.

Back to Dr. Ornish’s “real cause of osteoporosis.” He believes it is not insufficient calcium intake, but excessive excretion of calcium in the urine.  Interesting to note that vegetarians excrete much less calcium, and this is why they have very low rates of osteoporosis even though their dietary intake of calcium is lower than those on a meat-eating diet.

To substantiate this even more, at the University of Texas Medical School at Dallas, scientists conducted a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 1988, comparing urinary excretion of normal subjects who were given two different diets:  one diet contained only vegetable protein while the other contained only animal protein.  Both diets had the same amount of protein, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphate, and magnesium.

Urinary calcium excretion was 50 percent greater on the animal protein diet than on the vegetable protein diet.  The authors concluded that the inability of the subjects to compensate for the animal protein-induced loss of calcium in their urine might predispose them to develop osteoporosis as well as kidney stones.

Many of us are familiar with the work by Dr. T. Colin Campbell,  author of  The China Study. In his study of 6,500 Chinese, he found that although most Chinese consume no dairy products and obtain their calcium from vegetables, osteoporosis is uncommon in China even though the people there consume only half the calcium as Americans.  According to Dr. Campbell, “Ironically, osteoporosis tends to occur in countries where calcium intake is highest and most of it comes from protein-rich dairy products,” which cause the body to lose more calcium than consumed.  The U.S. has one of the highest rates of dairy consumption and calcium intake, yet has one of the highest rates of osteoporosis.  Makes me think of that famous commercial, “Got Milk?”

So what is the answer? Exercise of course has many benefits, one of which is increasing bone density so there is less risk of osteoporosis and fractures.   And eating one cup per day of nonfat milk or yogurt provides some extra calcium to help insure against osteoporosis without increasing protein intake excessively.    Consuming less animal products and focusing more on a plant-based diet can certainly help.

I have implemented the following 3 things into my lifestyle and do not “rally with Sally” for my own bone health!

• I have chosen to exercise more (to let the bone know that the body is active and needs stronger bones)
• I am making more plant-based diet choices
• I supplement daily with  a comprehensive, easy to swallow supplement that provides 1,000 mg. of elemental calcium, 400 mg of magnesium and of course Vitamin D3, all that have been clinically proven to be absorbed.  (for the body to use calcium to build and maintain strong bones, calcium must first be absorbed)

What about you? What is your strategy to make sure you have good bone health?

Seeing this picture of these two adorable children completely passive but thoroughly engaged in media made me very sad.    I want to see them running outside, exploring nature, flying kites, looking for bugs, anything but being mesmorized by a tv screen.

Because we did not even have a tv set as I was growing up,  my memories of childhood were all outside, spending time with friends, playing games like “kick the can” and exploring the neighborhood.  Staying in the house was a punishment for us, not an everyday occurance.

A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine revealed some disturbing facts about toddlers and tv exposure.  “We found every additional hour of TV exposure among toddlers corresponded to a future decrease in classroom engagement and success at math,  increased victimization by classmates,  have a more sedentary lifestyle, higher consumption of junk food and, ultimately, higher body mass index,” says lead author Dr. Linda S. Pagani, a psychosocial professor at the Universite de Montreal and researcher at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center.

Another study which followed almost 2000 high school kids and their TV viewing times, found that those students who watched too much TV are much more likely to develop bad eating habits in their future.  Dr Daheia Barr-Anderson worked with a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota to investigate this relationship between television and diet. She said, “To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the association between television viewing and diet over the transition from adolescence into young adulthood. We’ve shown that TV viewing during adolescence predicts poorer dietary intake patterns five years later”.

Unfortunately, statistics now show that one-third of all of the kids in this country are either overweight or obese.   This can have a devasting effect on how kids feel about themselves.    Michelle Obama’s nationwide campaign, Let’s Move, is certainly a good place to start when it stresses finding new ways to help our kids stay physically active in school and at home.

Perhaps, as parents and grandparents, we all need to remove ourselves from in front of the tv set and spend more time  experiencing that outside world because staying fit, even for the very young, apparently can make a big difference in our overall health.

What does your family do for recreation?  Would love to hear your comments about this.

My daughter just recently remarked to me that our teen grandson no longer wanted to eat in the school cafeteria.  Curious, she asked him why.  His answer revealed what is being said throughout the country regarding children and school food.  “It’s making me fat, Mom!”  His decision is not about the food but the calories.  In fact he enjoys the food.

When she told me this, it brought me back to my days as a cafeteria manager, serving chicken nuggets, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries and horrible canned vegetables that the children always threw away. I knew these foods were high in calories (the average cafeteria meal is said to be 800 calories and 1479 milligrams sodium!)    I would have loved to change the menu but most of the food came to us in USDA  boxes quickly stored away in freezers.  We simply heated them up.  This food leads to the same villains that afflict American adults:  too much fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt.

Watching Jamie Oliver’s show, The Food Revolution,  a show about making changes in our nation’s school cafeterias, made me realize how, as parents and grandparents, we all need to do our part to make a difference.     It all begins with each family committing to helping our children make healthier choices and recognizing the connection between childhood diet and disease.  Kid’s food habits usually are in place by kindergarten, so education about better food choices definitely begin in the home.  David Levitsky, a Cornell University nutritionist, found that children who had learned about relatively unusal and healthy foods such as bulgur, couscous, greens, etc. ate between two and nine times more than their classmates when offered such food choices in school.

The picture on this post could be me as a child. As I stated in my first post I was very overweight as a child.  And I did not get this way by watching too much TV (we did not even get a TV until I was in the 5th grade!)  or going to McDonalds too many times.  I do not remember any fast food restaurants as a child.  (The first McDonalds opened in 1950).   My parents, both raised during the Depression, insisted on heaping our plates with food, good homemade food, but too much food.  They did not want to deprive us as they were deprived.  As a result, I simply became overweight from overeating.  Exercise literally saved me from becoming an obese teen.

Michelle Obama, featured on the cover of Newsweek this week, has begun a program called Let’s Move. a nationwide campaign with a single goal:  to help children born today reach adulthood at a healthy weight.  Focusing on things that families can do such as providing more nutritious, fresh food, and finding new ways to help  kids be more physically active is part of the campaign.   I am encouraged by so much media about this subject.   I would love to hear what your  family is doing to promote healthy living.

I can still remember receiving the call that our four year old son’s preschool teacher had been rushed to the hospital with a stroke.  All I could think about was her sweet smile and loving, nurturing way she was as Jonathan’s teacher.  He loved her so much and I did not even know what to tell him about what had happened.

When I was finally able to visit her it was shocking. She was unable to speak as the stroke had paralyzed her on one side, including half of her face.  Her sweet smile was now twisted.  I have never been able to forget that image.  It changed her life and the lives of those little ones who were never able to benefit from her wonderful gift as a teacher.  It made me very sad.

According to the American Heart Association, there are approximately 6,500,000 stroke survivors living today in the United States. Further, 795,000 individuals have a stroke that is new or recurring every year.  Stroke is the third most common form of death in the US yet most of these can be prevented simply by our own lifestyle changes.

I just recently learned that people in the Southeastern part of the US are more prone for stroke.  That certainly made me sit up and take notice.  Suddenly that quick sweet tasty muffin for breakfast had a whole new meaning.  Rather than spiking my blood sugar on a daily basis I have chosen now to begin my day with protein.  I particularly enjoy a high protein soy shake with frozen organic fruit.

Another top leading reason for stroke is high blood pressure.  Understanding that my top number should not be greater than 120 and my bottom number  should never be greater than 80 is a tip I need to remember.

I began to think more about the healthy foods Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends in his book, You Staying Young.  Foods with heart-healthy nutrients and strong anti-inflammatory effects include  fruits and vegetables, garlic, olive oil, Omega-3 fatty acids, (found in fish – the best being wild, line-caught salmon, mahi-mahi, catfish, flounder, tilapia and whitefish), foods with magnesium  (whole grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocado, beets and raisins), foods with soy protein…even dark chocolate!

I cringed as I thought about our last visit to The Red Robin Restaurant for my birthday and saw the “tower of onion rings”, saturated fat laden fries, thick burgers and textbook-thick (as Dr. Oz describes it) pieces of pie delivered to tables filled with families.  Even our granddaughter, Isabel, licked her lips as she watched the “tower” slip by to another table, wondering of course why we were not getting one!  It is not easy eating healthily at such a place.

Raising your heart rate each day can be a positive move.    I now enjoy walking every day  with Leslie Sansome.  Her 2 mile walk in 30 minutes on Exercise TV is great!

If you suspect someone is having a stroke, call 911 immediately if they have difficulty with or cannot:  (1) smile; (2) raise both arms; (3) speak a simple sentence.  Every minute counts!

Have you,  friends or family been impacted by stroke? How has it affected your own or their lives?

I began my journey to a healthier me via exercise and weight loss about 4 weeks ago.  At first I was feeling frustrated  if I could not get to my goal weight quickly and it  felt almost like I was failing.  But as I got into the rhythm of walking each day and settling into the calories I was allowing for myself, as well as losing my cravings,  I found myself feeling good about the loss of a pound or two each week.

I receive a health newsletter periodically from Dr. Stephen Chaney,  a Doctor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina here in Chapel Hill,  and was excited to see that he addressed this issue as well.  He gave three reasons to basically stay away from those “fad diets” that promise fast weight loss.

#1: Rapid weight loss causes your “starvation response” to kick in!
With a fast food restaurant on every corner in today’s world it’s hard to imagine that we even have a “starvation response”.  But you have to remember that we evolved in a world in which you had to chase down your dinner, hit it over the head with a club and drag in back to your cave.

In that world you might have to go weeks with just a few berries and roots to eat – especially if you were as handy with a club as I am.  Because of our beginnings, we are all hardwired with a starvation response that dramatically reduces our metabolic rate whenever the calories in our daily diet decrease significantly.

The “starvation response” was a lifesaver when we were cavemen (and cave women), but it just causes frustration when you are trying to lose weight.

#2: Rapid weight loss causes you to lose muscle mass.

That’s because your brain needs glucose to function.  Fat cannot be metabolized to glucose, but muscle protein can.  Because protein burns calories more rapidly than fat the loss of muscle mass decreases your metabolic rate even more.

When you combine the “starvation response” with the loss of muscle mass your metabolic rate decreases to such a great extent that you often encounter the all too familiar weight loss plateau.  Now, as hard as you try, you just can’t seem to lose any more weight.

#3: Rapid weight loss is almost never sustainable in the long run.

You’ve cut calories so dramatically that you feel hungry all of the time (and probably grumpy as well).  You can’t imagine this as a permanent part of your lifestyle – and it almost never is.  That’s why most experts recommend that you aim for a calorie deficit of just 500 calories per day.

Since 2500 calories is approximately equivalent to one pound, that’s just over one pound of weight loss per week.  If you add a 30 minute/day exercise program to burn off~300 calories/day you will approach 2 pounds of weight loss per week.

So if you want to lose that weight and keep it off, learn to get excited about 1 to 2 pounds of weight loss per week ……and avoid all of those fad diets that promise more rapid weight loss!

How about you?  What have your experiences with fast or slow weight loss been?

Does 150 minutes a week of aerobic activity sound daunting? It certainly did for me so I began by breaking  it down into 10 minute intervals twice a day.   This really helped.

Since 1963 the American Heart Association has proclaimed February as American Heart Month.  Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, are our nation’s number one killer.  Their goal is to raise funds for research and education and pass along information about heart disease and stroke. In a 70 year lifetime an average human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times!  This little fact amazed me, particularly since my husband, Ray, just turned 70.

Although heart disease is often thought of as a problem for men, more women than men die of heart disease each year. Women are six times as likely to die of heart disease as of breast cancer. Heart disease kills more women over 65 than do all cancers combined.

Barbara Schmidt, MS.Rd, lifestyle specialist at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut states, “Exercise is medicine, and you have to incorporate it into your life.  The number 1 way to raise HDL, the ‘good’ cholesterol, is through exercise….I describe HDL as the Roto-Rooter of the arteries.”

Lowering blood pressure as well as stress levels, both risk factors for heart disease, is another added benefit of exercise.   My own experience with exercise, particularly since I started on my weight loss program, has been challenging as well as uplifting.  I first discovered that in order to keep going I have to stay hydrated. As long as I drink water throughout my workout I have a lot more stamina.

At first I was discouraged because I just could not last.  I started with 1/2 mile on the treadmill and would get so tired.  This went on for about a week until I began to hydrate as I walked.  As I built up my stamina I moved to a mile, then a mile and a half.  Today I was able to go a whole 2 miles!  My goal is walk 3 miles minimum each day to reach 10,000 steps!  Would love to hear your exercise challenges and triumphs.

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