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Healthy Life

Young woman holding bottle of olive oil
 by Victoria Santalesa

The Oils Of Longevity

You may have heard people saying they can’t live without their morning coffee, but we usually don’t take them literally. Just when you thought your caffeinated cup had reached the limit in positive attributes, there comes proof that having a cup of coffee each day may be just what you need to keep having more days to have more cups of coffee! And while you’re at it, you may want to pop some fish oil pills too; they apparently have similar effect.

Recent studies show that both coffee and fish oil contain properties which can actually promote longevity. Not convinced? Here’s a look at some of the latest research on drinking coffee and taking fish oil capsules and why it may just be the latest recipe for long life.

What Are Telomeres?
You may have heard of these little caps at the end of our DNA. Telomeres control our lifespan by determining how many times our cells divide and stay alive. As we get older, environmental stressors take their toll, and these telomeres get shorter, meaning our lives do as well. Therefore, keeping them long is key to longevity. The latest way to do that is by drinking your morning coffee with a side of fish oil.

Fish Oil and Longevity
A study in the 2016 issue of Nutrients looked at the effect of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil on tele mere length in a controlled trial. Experts attribute the increase in length to a reduction of oxidative stress.

An additional study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity seems to support these findings. The study included 106 individuals with an average age of 51 who were considered relatively healthy, divided into three groups. One group received 2.5 grams of long chain omega-3’s per day, a second received 1.25 grams a day, and one received placebo pills that had proportion of fatty acids similar to those found in an average American diet. After four months, results showed a significant increase in telomere length and a decrease in oxidative stress among those who received the omega-3 supplements.

The two main types of long chain omega-3 fats are most often found in fish such as sardines, herring, salmon, and mackerel. Alpha-linolenic acid is a short chain omega-3 fatty acid that can be found in flaxseeds and walnuts.

Coffee and Longevity
Coffee is already a well known source of antioxidants which makes it a life lengthening beverage. Scientists ar the Journal of Nutrition used data from the Nurse’s Health Study form 1976 to explain the link between coffee drinking and telomere length in 4780 female nurses, and found a direct correlations. Of the nurses, those who drank 2 cups of coffee daily had a 29% higher chance of having an average telomere lengthen while the odds were 36% higher in those who drank 3 cups.

However experts are quick to point out that while coffee may be very beneficial to your health, caffeine may not. Although researchers from the University of Scranton say coffee is America’s number one antioxidant source, they are also quick to remind us that regular and decaf have the same antioxidant levels, and too much caffeine can cause unwanted side effects. Try to keep caffeine consumption at a moderate 300-400mg daily, about 3 to 4 cups of coffee to keep away anxiety and depression.

What do you think? Is fish oil and coffee the new Breakfast of Champions? Let us know!

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Woman eating pizza
 by Victoria Santalesa

Tips For Avoiding Junk Food

Do you ever wonder how many people watched the movie “Supersize Me'” while eating a huge tub of movie popcorn and sipping a large soda? Do you ever wonder how many shook their heads at the follies of the habitual junk food eater while indulging in the very object of their scorn? We all know that practicing is a lot harder than preaching, but the ugly truth is that, if there is anything to be learned from “Supersize Me” it is this: junk food is bad for you. It is physically harmful and physiologically addictive. If you are fed up with being fed up, here are some tips for avoiding junk food.

1. Over 5? Put it down!
If you see more than five ingredients on a food label, leave it out of your shopping cart. The more ingredients a product contains, the greater the likelihood that it contains processed ingredients.

2. Tricolor
According to a 2012 Cornell University study, people have a preference for a plate of food featuring three different items of three different colors. Keep this in mind the next time you reach for a candy bar. Think more along the lines of fruit slices or mixed nuts. This way, you are getting a better balance of nutrients and a variety of tastes.

3. Make other plans
Does your daily schedule include a mid afternoon trip to the snack bar? If so, try to find yourself taking a healthy five minute walk at that time. You will soon find yourself forgetting all about that daily bag of gummies.

resveralife-tips-for-avoiding-junk-food-fruit-for-dessert
4. Fruit for Dessert
If you can’t get through the day without something sweet, no problem! Make a parfait with fruit and Greek yogurt or freeze some grapes for after dinner.

5. Overchew
Adam Melonas, founder of UNREAL candy says, “If you can make people chew more, they eat less.” When you’re picking food, take chew time into consideration. A nice crisp apple will keep your mouth busy for a while, whereas a whole banana can take under a minute to consume. If you’re looking to keep your mouth busy, the apple is a better choice.

6. Learn Gross Facts About Your Food
Ignorance is bliss! The more you know about processed food, the less likely you are to eat it. For example, frozen chicken breast get their “grill marks” from machines containing vegetable oil. Processed food like Kool Aid and breakfast sausage contain BHA, a preservative that Health and Human Services consider a carcinogen. The BBQ flavor in Baked Lays is made with milk and chicken powder and the vitamin D3 in yogurt is made from sheep’s grease.

woman eating healthy food from fridge
7. Keep the Good Stuff Close, keep the bad stuff out
Make sure to have the healthy foods where you can reach them; in the front of the fridge or on countertops. Be aware of foods that trigger junk food binges and don’t buy them.

If you are a junk food junkie, tell us about your struggle, or if you beat junk food, tell us how you did it. Remember, we love to hear all the facts!

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Healthy, happy women.
 by Victoria Santalesa

Healthy pH For Your Body Part

“Hey, did I catch you off balance?”  “Were you balancing your books?” “Trying to get your life in balance?” Our government runs on a system of checks and balances and a balance of power. We need to balance work and life, good and bad, reward and punishment.  Our universe depends on balance, the positioning of planets and the forces of motion all depend on balance.  Our bodies depend on balance. If balance weren’t such big deal, why are we all doing yoga?

 In order to maintain equilibrium in our bodies, It is no surprise that balance is also important. Our bodies need to have a  healthy pH balance, that is the alkalinity in our body must be in balance with the acidity in our bodies.

Before we continue it should be noted that the kind of balance we talk about when we talk  about our bodies is not the kind of balance which requires an equal amount on each side, it is the balance of correct proportion.  Just as a beautiful face is not always perfectly symmetrical, a healthy body is not either.  The optimal pH balance for our bodies is a little bit on the alkaline side, with a  pH of 7.4 on a scale ranging from 1-14 and it is suggested that we eat a diet which puts the emphasis on alkaline foods as opposed to acidic food. But  it is not the acid content of the food that makes the difference, it is the way our different body parts respond to the acid.

Blood
When we talk about maintaining a 7.4 pH balance in our body, we really do not need to worry about our blood.  Our lungs and kidneys take care of keeping that number constant.  Rather, it is the body parts whose pH balance is less stable that  we need to worry about.

Cells
The pH levels of our cells tend to vary more than our blood and we need to make sure they stay slightly alkaline, so we need to watch our diet to make sure that they function at their best.  Alkaline diets provide magnesium, which is needed by our enzyme systems and preserve muscle mass while aging.

Urine
 The pH level of our urine is also worrisome,as it tends to vary as well.  To keep it stable, we need to avoid animal protein, grains, soda, beer, and sodium, which are hard for our kidneys to break down.  It is important that we get potassium and minerals from fruit to neutralize the acid.

Stomach
The stomach needs to remain slightly acidic in order to break down food.When you eat, your stomach releases  acid causing your stomach pH to drop to as low as 1 or 2. After the meal is digested, buffers in your stomach, such as mucous and bicarbonate, work to neutralize the acid, bringing your tummy back to a resting rate of 4-5. When levels of acid in our stomach are high, (which happens when we eat protein, especially red meat) our system seeks out alkaline nourishment in our digestive tract.  If it cannot find it, it will draw minerals from our bones. (This is an example of what happens when our bodies are not in balance.) It is why it is so important to eat a diet heavy in nutrients like calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium to make sure our system can find them when it needs to

Skin
The skin needs to be slightly acidic to support the acid mantle.  This is the skin’s barrier It blocks out germs, pollution, and toxins.  When skin is too alkaline, it becomes dry and inflamed. It may stop fighting off enzymes that destroy collagen and cause wrinkles.  The ideal pH level for the skin is 5.5. If it is higher, it signals damage to the acid mantle which exposes your skin to bacteria and UV rays and may be a sign of excessive use of exfoliants and peeling products

If the pH of the skin is lower than 5.5, that probably nears you are overusing products designed to make skin less greasy.  If this is you, pay attention to scrubbing  and hydrating often.

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Woman making a smoothie
 by Mayank

Four Components of a Healthy Lifestyle

The word “healthy” gets tossed around a lot, and carries connotations of salads, treadmills, and so-called “health foods” or “superfoods” (many of which are called such by rather spurious allegations). But what does it actually mean?

Merriam Webster defines the word “healthy” as “good for your health,” but that’s also pretty vague. What’s generally meant in common parlance when something is called “healthy” is that it will be conducive to your body functioning efficiently and as it was meant to. Things that are healthy are part of a greater picture of being healthy, which means keeping your body running smoothly with few problems or complications, and in the long term, means keeping your body going for a long, happy life.

But how to accomplish this? There’s so much information, misinformation, conflicting information, good information, bad information, spurious information, questionable but maybe good information…you get the idea. There are a lot of ideas out there on what is and isn’t healthy, but rest easy, because it’s actually a lot simpler than you might think. In fact, there are four habits in particular that, if cultivated, will have you living and feeling healthy, and they’re not that hard.

Woman smoking

First, Don’t Smoke
Or, if you’re currently a smoker, quit. Seriously, you need to quit. Don’t just move to e-cigarettes, stop consuming anything with nicotine in it entirely (using an e-cigarette to vape nicotine-free flavored water is okay). Cigarettes are of course the worst offender because you get awful things like tar and fiberglass in your lungs in addition to nicotine, but even though e-cigarettes dispose of those additives, nicotine is still really harmful to your health. If you want to live a long, healthy life without serious complications, and to have nice skin, you need to work on quitting. We know it’s hard, but you can do it.

Next, Eat Well
An ideal and healthful diet includes lots of dark, leafy greens, some fruits, a good source of protein, but not too much, never too much meat (a little is okay), and plenty of fiber, among other things. A daily multivitamin is also recommended. Minimize junk foods high in saturated fats, and avoid trans fats like the plague, except as a VERY occasional treat, at most. Limit sugar consumption and don’t overdo it on caffeine (some caffeine is okay, but don’t exceed about 400 mg, which translates to 3-5 cups of coffee a day, depending on the variety).

Woman exercising

Third, Exercise Moderately
You don’t want to overdo it, as that can have its own negative repercussions, but a vigorous cardiovascular activity that raises your heart rate substantially for around a half-hour a day is ideal. Strength training is fine (but be careful!) if you want to, but not necessary for good health.

Finally, Keep Your Body Fat Percentage in Check
This is one to talk to your doctor about to get more specifics and advice. Generally, if you’re following the above three rules, you’re probably fine, but it’s good to check just to be sure. Body fat percentage is a much more reliable measure of overall physical health than BMI, because its measures how much of your body is fat, as opposed to a highly fallible ratio of height to weight. If your BMI is too high or too low, ask your doctor about ways to get it back on track.

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