anti – aging

What exactly is healthy living?

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Healthy living can mean different things to different people. To most, healthy living means both physical and mental health are in balance or functional in a beneficial way for the person.

This article is not meant to be all inclusive but will include some major components that are considered to be parts of a lifestyle that lead to good health. In addition to the tips about what people should do for healthy living, the article will mention some of the tips about avoiding actions (the don’ts) that lead to unhealthy living.

Quit Smokingquitting smoking

  • Pick and set a date for quitting. If you can, plan to have a friend quit smoking with you or to hold you to word and be a support. It’s best to pick a day within the next month. A date too far off in the future will give you a chance to procrastinate and postpone, while a date too soon may not allow you to make a plan for medications or support systems.
  • Watch yourself. Notice when and why you smoke. Try to find the things in your daily life that you often do while smoking (such as drinking your morning cup of coffee or driving a car).
  • Change your smoking routines: Keep your cigarettes in a different place. Smoke with your other hand. Don’t do anything else when you are smoking. Think about how you feel when you smoke.

Healthy eating (diet and nutrition)

All humans have to eat food for growth and maintenance of a healthy body, but we have different nutrition requirements as infants, children (kids), teenagers, young adults, adults, and seniors. For example, infants may require feeding every 4 hours until they gradually age and begin to take in more solid foods. Eventually, they develop into the more normal pattern of eating three times per day as young kids. However, as most parents know, kids, teenagers, and young adults often snack between meals. Snacking is often not limited to these age groups because adults and seniors often do the same.

Tips:

  • Eat three healthy meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner); it is important to remember that dinner does not have to be the largest meal.
  • Do not eat excessively late, before bedtime.
  • The bulk of food consumption should consist of healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk products.
  • Incorporate lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts (with emphasis on beans and nuts) into a healthy diet.
  • Choose foods that are low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars; look at the labels because the first listed items on the labels comprise the highest concentrations of ingredients.
  • Control portion sizes; eat the smallest portion that can satisfy hunger and then stop eating.
  • Healthy snacks are OK in moderation and should consist of items like fruit, whole grains, or nuts to satisfy hunger and not cause excessive weight gain.
  • Avoid sodas and sugar-enhanced drinks because of the excessive calories in the sodas and sugar drinks; diet drinks as well since they make some people hungrier and increase food consumption.
  • Think of it not as a diet but as a lifestyle change
  • Avoid eating a large meal before sleeping to decrease gastroesophageal reflux and weight gain.
  • If a person is angry or depressed, eating will not solve these situations and may make the underlying problems worse.
  • Avoid rewarding children with sugary snacks; such a pattern may become a lifelong habit for people.
  • Avoid heavy meals in the summer months, especially during hot days.
  • A vegetarian lifestyle has been promoted for a healthy lifestyle and weight loss; vegetarians should check with their physicians to be sure they are getting enough vitamins, minerals, and iron in their diet.
  • Cooking foods (above 165 F) destroys most harmful bacteria and other pathogens; if you choose to eat uncooked foods like fruits or vegetables, they should be thoroughly washed with running treated (safe to drink) tap water right before eating.
  • Avoid eating raw or undercooked meats of any type.

Tips for special situations:

  • People with diabetes should use the above tips and monitor their glucose levels as directed; try to keep the daily blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible.
  • People with unusual work schedules (night shifts, college students, military) should try to adhere to a breakfast, lunch, and dinner routine with minimal snacking.
  • People who prepare food should avoid using grease or frying foods in grease.
  • People trying to lose weight (body fat) should avoid all fatty and sugary foods and eat mainly vegetables, fruits, and nuts and markedly reduce his/her intake of meat and dairy products.
  • Seek medical advice early if you cannot control your weight, food intake, or if you have diabetes and cannot control your blood glucose levels.

Thanks for reading.

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Acai Berry

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Direct from Mother Nature’s medicine cabinet, deep in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil, healing acai berries dangle from acai palm trees. Recognizing the curative powers of acai centuries before it was introduced to the West, the Yanomani tribe refers to the acai palm as the “Tree of Life.”

Impressed with its restorative properties, which work from the inside out, Brazilians have dubbed acai “The Beauty Berry,” and the West is finally catching on.

In his New York Times #1 bestseller, “The Perricone Promise,” celebrated nutritionist / dermatologist, Dr. Nicholas Perricone, lists acai health benefits as the #1 Superfood.

“Superfood” is the health food industry’s stamp of approval for low-calorie, antioxidant-rich foods that lower your risk for life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Acai, pronounced (ah-sigh-EE), isn’t your typical antioxidant-laden fruit. It is also high in essential fatty acids, amino acids and fiber, making it perhaps the most well-rounded, edible fruit on the planet.acai_berries_hand

This small but mighty fruit measures approximately 1-inch long and is colored varying shades of dark purple. Made up of 90% inedible seed, acai’s 10% edible pulp packs in more grams of protein than an egg and contains 15 times the amount of antioxidants as red grapes and 30% more antioxidants than blueberries.

In fact, its ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity)–the scientific measurement of a nutrient’s antioxidant magnitude–is over 3500, the highest capacity of any fruit!

The Low-Down on Antioxidants

You’ve probably heard the buzz about antioxidants, but just what are they, and what role do they play in your health?

Antioxidants are phytochemicals, vitamins and other nutrients that prevent oxidation from occurring in your body. To understand oxidation, just imagine what happens to a cut apple when it is left uncovered for a couple of hours. It begins to brown and rot. The same process happens inside your body if it is not protected by antioxidants.

What causes the oxidation? Your body produces harmful byproducts called free radicals–unstable molecules that scavenge your tissues looking for electrons to steal. In the process, healthy tissues are destroyed, leading to aging and disease.

Unfortunately, we have entered an age of free radical overload, as our bodies are also attacked from the outside in via pollution, cigarette smoke and toxins from cleaning products and herbicides.

Antioxidants interrupt this destructive cycle by volunteering one of their own electrons, satisfying the voracious free radical before it can damage your cells.

Fortifying your body with antioxidant rich foods, particularly acai berries, halts the aging process, restarting long-lasting health and protecting against the oxidative stress that triggers diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Acai’s Unique Composition

Acai health benefits have all the typical vitamins and minerals found in popular fruits, but also contains unique, never-before-seen plant compounds. Acai contains the potent antioxidants flavonoids and anthocyanins, which are responsible for acai’s rich color and thought to be the key to acai’s remarkable restorative and preventative powers.

Scientists have still not figured out the exact makeup of this Superfood. Dr. Stephen Talcott of the University of Florida discovered 50-75 active natural molecules in acai that have yet to be classified.

The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry published Talcott’s study, which showed that acai health benefits were able to trigger apoptosis (cell death) in 86% of leukemia cells tested in vitro. Talcott was realistic but hopeful, explaining, “This was only a cell-culture model and we don’t want to give anyone false hope,” Talcott said.acai-berry

“We are encouraged by the findings, however. Compounds that show good activity against cancer cells in a model system are most likely to have beneficial effects in our bodies.”

Antioxidants alone are enough to encourage indulgence in this decadent fruit. Add omegas 3-6-9 to the mix and acai health benefits truly earns its Superfood status. This perfect balance of omegas improves the look and feel of hair, skin and nails, and reduces inflammation inside the body.

Inflammation is recognized as one of the primary causes of life-threatening illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Acai health benefits also contains a healthy dose of fiber, amino acids and carbohydrates that boost your immune system and your metabolism, thereby slowing aging and promoting longevity.

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Green Smoothie Health Benefits

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How a 3-Minute Solution Can Make it Nearly Impossible for You to Get Ill

FACT: More people have died from preventable diseases than all the wars of the world combined.


Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It affects the population worldwide, and accounts for 70% of all deaths in the United States, which is 1.7 million each year.

Approximately 133 million Americans—or close to one out of every two adults—live with at least one chronic illness.  The top 6 chronic diseases are heart disease… diabetes… arthritis… obesity… stroke…and cancer.

Chronic diseases are long-lasting conditions that the mainstream public believes can only be controlled but not cured.  This is completely false!  Chronic diseases are among the most preventable health conditions—and they can not only be effectively controlled but even cured.

Nutritional Deficiency is One of the Major Causes of Chronic Disease

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control show that only 24% of U.S. adults eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day, despite evidence indicating that doing so drastically improves your odds of staying disease-free.
Many health experts maintain that including just 5 fruits and 3 vegetables in your daily diet makes it almost impossible to develop a chronic disease.  In recent years, because healthy-fruitsmost individuals aren’t able to consume that many servings of fruits and vegetables per day, countless people from all over the world are flocking to the “3-Minute Wellness in a Glass” also known as…the green smoothie.

Green smoothies are the easiest way to “drink” large amounts of fruits and vegetables you wouldn’t be able to consume otherwise, thereby flooding your body with plant-based phytochemicals, sometimes called phytonutrients, which deliver a wealth of benefits.  They strengthen your immune system… extend your lifespan…and reduce your odds of developing a life-threatening disease.

Green smoothies also provide a rich source of beneficial amino acids, minerals and antioxidants.  That’s also why they’re called “the new prescription” for perfect health.  Best of all, when you use kitchen-tested recipes, they taste great.

A single green smoothie can fill your nutritional quota for the day and keep chronic diseases away.

WARNING: Not Just Any Smoothie Will Do!
A “green smoothie” consists of 60% organic fruits (fresh or frozen) and 40% organic green leafy vegetables, blended well in a high-powered blender, sometimes with a cup of liquid.  It is not to be confused with the fruit smoothies or shakes or fruit/vegetable juices sold in juice bars or restaurants, which don’t have the nutritional and therapeutic benefits that green smoothes have.


When done right, drinking green smoothies is the single most health-enhancing, weight-reducing, detoxifying, anti-aging and healing habit you can ever adopt.

Clent Manich, a man from Medford, Oregon, weighed 447 pounds—and suffered from Type II diabetes and acute pancreatitis.  His doctors told him he was going to die.  But by consuming green smoothies every day, he was able to overcome diabetes, and was completely off insulin and all his medications in 3 weeks!  In 14 weeks, he lost 100 pounds — and he eventually dropped 226 pounds in one year, and has never regained the weight.375x321_lose_weight_fast_how_to_do_it_quickly_ref_guide

Click here to get the exact recipe that made Clent Manich lose 227 pounds — and beat diabetes and pancreatitis.

Make a healthy choice and see in the improvement in your life.

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Pomegranates

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Pomegranates have been prized for their nutrition value for more than 4,000 years, especially in the ancient world of the Middle and Near East.

Now, research shows that this time-honored fruit can fight heart disease…support healthy cholesterol levels…lower blood pressure…relieve stress…improve your sex life…and, according to a brand-new study, even slow down the aging process of DNA.

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Pomegranate Benefits: An Anti-Aging Super Food

In November of 2011, scientists from the ProbelteBio laboratory in Murcia, Spain conducted a month-long study of the effects of pomegranate extract. The study focused specifically on the pomegranate’s rich stores of antioxidants (important compounds that prevent age-related cell damage).

The research team recruited two groups of volunteers. The first group was given extracts of the whole pomegranate fruit in capsule form (extracts included the pith or membrane, peel, and seeds). The second group received a placebo.

The research team was highly impressed with their results. Those who took the pomegranate extract showed a significant decrease in a specific, important marker linked to cell damage.

That marker, known as 8-Oxo-DG, can have detrimental effects such as:

      • Lessened brain function
      • Weakening of muscles
      • Impaired kidney function
      • Decrease in liver productivity
    • Aging of the skin

Sergio Streitenberger, lead researcher at ProbelteBio, believes the study “demonstrates that the regular consumption of this pomegranate extract can slow down the process of DNA oxidation.”

The pomegranate’s ability to decrease 8-Oxo-DG suggests that it wields significant power as an anti-aging super food.

Why Antioxidants Are The Ideal Anti-Agers

Antioxidants are crucial for preventing and reversing aging because they stop damage wrought by destructive free radicals.

“One way to look at aging is to think of it as rusting,” Streitenberger said, “or oxidizing.” Free radicals oxidize our body’s molecules. Everyday we take in these dangerous compounds in the food we eat, the beverages we drink, and even the air we breathe. “We get old because we fall apart cell by cell,” said Streitenberger.

Sandeep Prabhu, assistant professor of immunology and molecular toxicology at Penn State, says that foods especially rich in antioxidantsPomegranate_Image—such as pomegranates—qualify as anti-aging super food because they have “the ability to neutralize harmful molecules in our cells.”

Once free radicals reach the DNA of our cells, Streitenberger warns, “the damage is cumulative and significant.” This is why the ProbelteBio study is so astounding. For any food to so effectively guard against the aging process “would be a significant breakthrough,” says Streitenberger.

A Pomegranate A Day…Unbelievable Benefits

Some scholars believe the forbidden fruit said to have tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden was actually a pomegranate, not an apple. It could have been a mistranslation, because the word pomegranate comes from the Middle French pomme garnete, literally “seeded apple.”

Therefore, you might consider the pomegranate as the deluxe version of the apple, capable of so much more than simply keeping the doctor away.

But it’s important to remember that experts say the most potent pomegranate benefits come from consuming the whole fruit, not just the delicious seeds. Most commercial juices draw their content only from the seeds, and contain only small quantities of the powerful antioxidants that protect against aging. The real powerhouses are the inedible rind, hulk, and white pith.

These non-seed parts of the fruit are described as “inedible” not because they are toxic, but due to their bitter taste and unpleasant texture. With that in mind, heath practitioners recommend that you consider taking a supplement pill or health drink made with extracts of the whole fruit.

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