15 Myth-conceptions about your Health and Well Being
- Low Fat diets are healthy and best way to lose weight:
FACT: Many low-fat or no-fat foods have added sugar, starch, or salt to make up for the reduction in fat. These “wonder” foods often have just as many calories, or more, than the regular version. The standard low-fat diet recommended by health authorities contains less than 30% of daily calories from fat.
Studies generally agree that low-fat diets are not as effective as low-carb diets (think Keto) They tend to focus on whole foods, such as vegetables, eggs, meat and fish. They also encourage skipping most junk foods, which are usually high in refined carbs or added sugar. Additionally, low-carb diets based on whole foods tend to be higher in both fiber and protein than low-fat diets.
**Check the nutrition label to see how many calories are in a serving. Be sure to check the serving size too.
- All exercise is good for you—work out more!
Fact: Women are 8 times more likely to tear their ACL (due to more movement in joints/tissues) Hormones change/disappear as we age making injury more likely. Too much, too hard contributes to AGING!
Ideally 3-4 days a week work hard enough to raise your heart rate, become slightly breathless, for about 20 minutes. Stretch and do some resistance training 2-3 times a week.
Try a Peak 8 Routine: https://6weekstofitness.com/peak-8-interval-training/
- Blood sugar levels are fine around 90-100 (on blood tests)
Fact: The excess sugar in the blood that’s caused by diabetes damages the arteries by inactivating a specific phosphokinase, a substance that makes it possible for your arteries to smoothly dilate and contract. Without the phosphokinase, the risk of holes or cracks appearing at junctions in the arterial walls increases dramatically. So all of us, not just diabetics, want to avouid foods that are high in simple sugars. Nuff said!
- Memory Loss is Inevitable as we Age
Fact: About 80% of your brain is water!! Needless to say, staying hydrated is paramount! There are 100 billion neurons in your brain. Each nerve cell contains information that gets transmitted to another neuron. Neurons hold the information. The edges of the neurons are called dendrites, which can influence signals sent. Memory issues can be caused by vascular problems resulting in insufficient blod flow to the brain. Neuron loss is another. The best approach is prevention.
- Exercise regularly
- Insure that your sleep is healthy
- Take proper brain supplements: fish oil, CoQ10, B Complex, Alpha lipoic acid, antioxidants such as resveratrol or ataxanthin (to name a few)
- Stay AWAY from sugar and eat a whole foods/real foods based diet.
- You can will/wish away Depression
Fact: The limbic system is an area known to be vastly involved with some of the most fundamental processes of being human. When the deep limbic system is overactive, it results in mood-related problems, especially depression. Depressive symptoms can arise when the brain has low activity. Injury can cause low activity from events such as concussions, infection, loss of oxygen, and exposure to toxins.
**Sam-e is an excellent supplement for depression. S-AdenosylMethionine (SAMe) can be made naturally in the body or synthetically as a supplement. It powers over 200 enzymes necessary for healthy cell growth, maturation, and specialization.
In the brain, SAMe is required for nerve cells to make energy, maintain connectivity, and generate mood-related neurotransmitters. And your body utilizes SAMe for pain relief, depression, liver disease, and other conditions.
#1. Your Brain is Happy When You Exercise
Exercise is the most important thing to do when feeling depressed. When we exercise our brain releases “feel good” chemicals that help with our sense of well-being. In fact, a study that compared antidepressant medication with exercise found that both therapies were equally effective after sixteen weeks, and after ten months, exercise was more effective.
#2. Identify and Kill Your “ANTs”
ANTs are the Automatic Negative Thoughts that pop into your head, causing you to get upset, depressed, and anxious. There are nine species of ANTs:
- All or nothing thinking: Also known as black and white thinking.
- “Always” thinking: Using words like, always, never, no one, everyone, every time, and everything.
- Focusing on the negative: Selectively seeing only the bad in a situation and disregarding the good things that occur.
- Fortune telling: Predicting the worst possible outcome to situations.
- Mind reading: Believing that you know what another person is thinking even though he or she hasn’t told you.
- Thinking about your feelings: This happens when you believe your feelings and don’t question them, even when there is no evidence to support how you feel.
- Guilt beatings: Thinking with words like should, must, ought and have to.
- Labeling: Calling yourself or someone else a derogatory name diminishes your ability to see situations clearly.
- Blaming: When you don’t take responsibility for your actions, you lose your power to make changes.
- To overcome automatic negative thoughts, you must first become aware of the dialogue in your head. Once you identify an ANT, write it down, identify it and then kill it by writing down a more realistic version of the same thought. For example:
- ANT: No one will ever want to date me.
- ANT species: “Always” thinking.
- Kill the ANT: That isn’t true. I can meet people by putting myself in new social situations.
- Starve a cold, Feed a Fever?
Fact: Food should not be restricted per se…just eat as you have the appetite.
What is imperative is hydration. Fluid will help flush the body of infection. And rest, rest, rest of course! Here a few tips to keep from going down the rabbit hole:
- At first sign of illness start taking Oregano oil (in capsules)
- Always have Elderberry syrup on hand
- Always have bone broth waiting in your freezer
- Keep Liposomal Vitamin C stocked and take up to 2000 mg at first sign
- You should eat 13 servings of fruits and vegetables daily…Really?
Fact: It more like 9 handfuls of fruits and veggies daily. The other basics would be daily fiber foods, 1 oz of nuts/seeds, and there’s always Juice Plus+!! Juiceplus.com
- You don’t need your hormones any more.—Its not about Anti-Aging…but Aging Well, or is it?
Fact: As we age, our hormones all but disappear. We need hormones to protect our skin, brain, bones and much more!
Insulin
High levels of insulin can accelerate skin aging. Avoiding high sugar foods while also consuming a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats every three to four hours will help keep your insulin levels balanced. Supplements such as chromium or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) may help improve your insulin sensitivity, which results in less insulin release and overall lower insulin levels. Sleep deprivation is also associated with high insulin levels, so a good “beauty sleep” is essential.
Cortisol
Stress is not only bad for your health, it also has documented aging effects on our skin
cells. Studies conducted on laboratory rats, revealed that cortisol-induced collagen loss in
the skin is ten times greater than any other tissue; It is one of the biggest culprits of dull,
thin, and sagging skin. Anything that beats stress, supports the skin.
Estrogen
Estrogen is produced by the ovaries prior to menopause and by the adrenal glands after menopause. Your adrenal glands will produce less estrogen if they are fatigued, which is common with a stressful lifestyle, sleep disruption, aging, irregular eating habits or illness. Estrogen levels begin to decline in most women in their mid to late 40s although some women, particularly those who are very thin, may experience a drop much sooner. Less estrogen production that naturally occurs with age makes our skin thinner and less elastic., As estrogen dips, less collagen and elastin are produced. Estrogen also helps skin stay moist by boosting hyaluronic acid. A 1997 study of 3,875 postmenopausal women concluded that estrogen supplementation helped aging women have younger looking skin and also helped maintained skin’s collagen, thickness, elasticity and ability to retain moisture.
Simple dietary changes can also help support healthy estrogen levels through the intake of phytoestrogens, such as flaxseed and fermented soy products. Have one serving of organic, non-GMO soy along with two tablespoons of ground flaxseeds in your smoothies or salads, daily. Increase intake of broccoli, broccoli and other cruciferous—they contain indols, compounds that are essential to healthy estrogen balance. Herbal products such as licorice, angelica, red clover or black cohosh are also used to support healthy estrogen levels. Bio-identical hormone replacement in the form of creams containing two types of estrogen (estriol and estradiol) may also be beneficial, but these need to be obtained by prescription through your MD or ND practitioner.
Testosterone
Excessive testosterone, in women or men, may result in acne on the face, chest or back. With age, women tend to experience an increase in androgen (a male sex hormone) levels and a decline in estrogen, while men tend to experience the opposite – an increase in estrogen and a decline in testosterone, which causes the skin to dry out. Stress management and weight-bearing exercises may help to restore optimal levels for both men and women. You can also ask your health practitioner about bio-identical testosterone cream. For women who suspect too much testosterone, consider a supplement of saw palmetto.
DHEA
Dry skin is a problem that increases with age. Interestingly, DHEA turns on oil production and seems to help combat this problem and improve hydration. DHEA is a hormone that is a precursor to other hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone. DHEA levels tend to decline with stress as well as with age. DHEA also increases the production of collagen, making skin appear smoother and younger looking. Our skin’s immunity also appears to improve with DHEA, which may help healing.
Melatonin
A proper beauty rest is achieved by sleeping in a pitch black room. Melatonin and serotonin, our happy hormone, are produced in our skin from the amino acid tryptophan. Note that if we do not get enough protein in our diets, melatonin levels may also decline. According to a July 2005 article from the journal Endocrine, melatonin is involved in hair growth and protection against melanoma. As an antioxidant hormone, melatonin guards us from UV radiation and appears to play a role in repairing burned or damaged skin. Whether it’s applied topically or taken internally, melatonin may shield us from environmental and internal stressors. If you choose to supplement with melatonin, 1 to 3 mg taken sublingually at eight to nine p.m. is optimal.
Progesterone
Contrary to estrogen, progesterone levels often begin to decline in women in their mid to late 30’s. Wonder why pregnant women seem to have that special glow? The secret is the high level of progesterone. This revitalizing hormone is beneficial for skin elasticity and circulation. Progesterone levels decline with menopause as well as with stress. Low progesterone levels are also associated with conditions like PMS, fibrocystic breast disease, infertility, increased risk and incidence of miscarriage as well as polycystic ovarian syndrome. Men with prostate conditions also tend to have low levels. Progesterone levels may be supported with the use of evening primrose oil, herbs such as vitex (chasteberry) or natural progesterone creams. Stress management and sleeping well is also crucial to maintaining healthy progesterone levels.
Growth hormone
Because growth hormone tends to drop off as we get older, supplements are promoted as a way to “reverse” the effects of aging. Growth hormone is essential for skin-cell repair and the prevention of sagging. The production of growth hormone is closely linked to our exercise, sleep and nutritional habits. If we fail to exercise, sleep well or do not consume enough protein, we are literally accelerating the aging process because of a decrease in this repair hormone.
