How Stress effect your appetite and what you can do about it.

When you feel stressed it’s a common experience to want to eat a pint of ice cream and equally common to not want to eat anything at all. The stress response is complicated involving many systems of your body. How you react to that response varies from person to person. Does stress make you want.  read more….

Review of the Top 5 Free Online Longevity Calculators and Tests
A Review of the Websites Claim to Tell You How  Long You Will Live

There are a lot of life expectancy and longevity calculators out there. So I decided to do a systematic test to find the best. I found a willing friend and had him use a few of the top longevity calculators available. Throughout the process, we made note of his projected life expectancy according to the calculator, the experience of the test itself, and what recommendations were given, if any.   continue reading…..

Beans

Michael Greger M.D. · Last Updated on August 1, 2016

Beans are rich in phytonutriessnts and antioxidants and  an excellent addition to a varied, economical, healthy diet. All four of the major dietary food-scoring systems promote beans as a part of a healthy diet, one of only four foods these guidelines agree on. The newest dietary guidelines for Americans also promote whole plant food consumption, including a high legume intake.  continue  reading….

How Eating Less May Prolong Life
Three new studies show that restricting calories, even in non-obese people:
• reduces inflammation (Aging, July 2016)
• helps to prevent cancers (Cancer Research, July 14, 2016)
• increases autophagy (PLoS Genetics, July 14, 2016)continue reading….

Jamie Oliver’s Recipe of the Day  –  Brazilian Chicken Bucket –   click here!

Stress is all around us, and food provides a welcome, if momentary break.
Unfortunately, the foods we often turn to in times of stress, like coffee and sweets,
have a way of making us feel even more frazzled later on.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Research has shown that eating more of some foods
and less of others can cause stress hormones in the body to decline.

Making slight changes in your diet will produce physical changes  in the brain that
can make the world’s problems just a little bit easier to handle.

Researchers have found that food high in carbohydrates produce changes in the brain
that can take the edge of stress.

During emotionally trying times, our brain uses up its supply of serotonin, a chemical
that imparts feelings of well-being.  When serotonin levels fall, negative feelings
tend to rise.

Eating foods that are high in carbohydrates, like pasta, bagels or baked potatoes,
can quickly rise low serotonin levels, making you feel less stresses and more relaxed.
As serotonin levels rise, appetite usually decreases, which means that you are
less likely to eat your way through hard times.

Research  found that foods high in vitamin B6, such as bananas, potatoes and prunes,
can relieve irritability and stress, making you feel just a little bit better.
In one study, Dr. Tecce and his colleagues at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston lowered vitamin B6 levels
in a group of volunteers. The people became increasingly irritable and tense.

Vitamin B6 improves mood by raising levels of dopamine, a chemical in the brain
that is related to feeling good. When you don’t get enough vitamin B6 in your diet,
dopamine levels fall, and you can experience negative feelings.
In addition, people who don’t get enough vitamin B6, may produce to little serotonin,
which make them feel even worse.

The Question whether nutrition or stress is the most important factor in health has long been in dispute. However, both are most important, so it doesn’t matter.

Some people get away with poor diet if they are easy going, while others may survive the effects of stress through good diet. Others, who are not so fortunate in either case will suffer. If poor diet and stress are a dominant factor in their live, this will undoubtedly be a recipe for disaster.

On the other hand, if we get the diet right and be able to cope with stress, we are certain to thrive. If the other two key factors: regular exercise and minimizing exposure to chemicals are covered, we have the formula for excellent health.

Men and women who have never married die at younger ages than their married equivalents, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Single men between 25 and 64 years of age were approximately three times more likely to die than married men in the same age group, while single women in the 25 to 64 age group were approximately two-and-a-half times more likely to die than their married counterparts.
The higher rates of death were due to cancer, heart and other artery diseases, respiratory
and digestive system diseases, car accidents, suicide and drugs.

Similarly, a recent seven -year Swedish study found that middle-aged men who have recently endured high levels of emotional stress and have no-one to turn to for emotional support are three times as likely to die within several years as those who have ample supporting relationships.

So being single is a health hazard! Quips aside, there is considerable evidence to confirm this conclusion.

A Swedish study of 1,000 men, followed up from 50 to 70 years of age, found that one of the most important factors protecting them from disease and death, even after allowing for lifestyle factors like saturated fat  r smoking, is the number outside of people that live under one roof! The more people you live with, the safer you are.
That’s why the family network is so important.

The second important factor is the amount of social contact that people have outside the home.In other words, the number of people in our lives is likely to be of major significance in our well being and survival.

Dr Dean Ornish of the University of California, made the observation of people with heart disease that, “underneath their differences they felt a sense of isolation from parts of themselves and their own feelings, isolation from other people and isolation from a higher force, whatever that meant to them.”]

Dr Robert Buist in ‘The Cholesterol Myth’, adds: “Ornish’s support groups quickly focussed on the concept that anything that promotes intimacy and communication is healing, while isolation, alienation and loneliness are probably among the great predictors of heart disease.”

If we are not fortunate enough to be part of a big family, we can keep regular contact with friends and relatives. Or in the absence of those, we can join a social group or sporting club.

And when we look at the bright side of employment, instead of whingeing and moaning about having to go to work as we sometimes do, we can appreciate the fact that the emotional support of being part of a team may be second only  to the family in satisfying
a major need that keeps us alive and well.

In conclusion we can say that the most harmful kind of stress for most people is that associated with social isolation, alienation and loneliness.

So let us never take our relationships for granted. Friendships require nurturing, and the effort required will bring us abundant rewards.

   Edition #76

The Best Fitness Plan is to Do What’s Fun

Often times I’m asked, “What’s the best workout for fat loss?” To which I promptly reply, “45 minutes of vigorous running uphill paired with 30 minutes of lifting weights.” Just kidding. The truth is, there is no one best exercise. Although its not a particularly exciting answer, the very best exercise you can do is  continue reading…..

Healing from both acute and degenerative illnesses involves decreasing the body’s level of toxaemia, its load of metabolic wastes and man-made chemicals.

The only  form of healing is self-healing.
Many medications are toxic and often interfere with the process and may suppress it.
Sometimes they change the course of the illness and seems to effect
a cure, but one symptom has  merely been replaced by another.

‘Cleansing’ diets, herbs and other natural remedies may promote healing and/or supply some of  the necessary raw materials, but it is only living tissue which does the healing.
True healing brings about a genuine improvement in long term health.

With conventional drug therapy, there is none of the restoring and rejuvenating effects that come with natural healing. As a naturopath said many years ago:”A chemical that makes a well person sick (the side effects), can’t make a sick person well”.

Some times there is a place for medication. For instance, antibiotics can prevent death, and some cancer treatments may arrest the cancer growth and give people a few or many more years to live. But the cures don’t provide high level health.

Self healing requires a lot of energy.  The same energy that otherwise be consumed in everyday activities, such as walking, working or digesting food. As soon as we cease or greatly reduce our usual activities, and provided the level of vitality is adequate, energy is diverted to self- healing, which commences automatically in the body wherever needed.

The key to self-healing is energy conservation – both physical and mental – that means: complete rest.
Vitality, the other leading factor in healing, is a measure of the ability of the tissues to perform their functions. Their capacity to heal is directly related to vitality.
While we have no direct control over vitality in the short term, we can control the amount of rest.

We normally think of rest as sitting in a char or lying down, but that is only part of the process.
For full healing power to develop, rest must be much broader than this – it must be total.

Total rest has four components.
Physiological Rest: Rest of the digestive organs through a light ‘cleansing’ diet or briefly ceasing food intake entirely.

Physical Rest: Rest of the muscles. This requires being inactive as possible – perhaps bed rest.

Mental Rest: Rest of the mind. This means avoiding intense mental work and not getting involved in arguments. It is best to stay away from people who insists that if you don’t eat normal meals, you’ll harm yourself. Coping with this kind of pressure can be quite exhausting.

Sensory Rest: Rest of the senses and nerves. Avoid straining eyes and ears with too much reading, too much television, or listening to loud rock music. Keep away from cooking aromas which stimulate the flow of saliva and gastric juices, wasting valuable energy.

Stem cells engineered to grow cartilage, fight inflammation
Technique uses 3-D weaving to grow a living hip replacement

Date:
July 18, 2016
Source:
Washington University School of Medicine

Summary:
With a goal of treating worn, arthritic hips without extensive surgery to replace them, scientists have programmed stem cells to grow new cartilage on a 3-D template shaped like the ball of a hip joint. What’s more, using gene therapy, they have activated the new cartilage to release anti-inflammatory molecules to fend off a return of arthritis. keep reading….

Western-style diet linked to state-dependent memory inhibition
Date:

July 12, 2016

Source:

Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior

Summary:

Obesity may ultimately be a disease of the brain, involving a progressive deterioration of various cognitive processes that influence eating. Researchers have now shown that memory inhibition — the useful ability to ‘block out’ memories that are no longer useful, which depends on a brain area called the hippocampus — is linked to dietary excess.  read more.…..

Turmeric
Michael Greger M.D. · Last Updated on September 16, 2015
The spice turmeric has long been used to fight inflammation and may be able to improve endothelial function. Consuming turmeric may also be able to help with multiple myeloma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and treat and prevent Alzheimer’s.
Turmeric may be capable of preventing and treating (possibly by reprogramming cancer cell death) certain types of cancer including colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, skin, mouth, vulva, and ulcerating breast cancer.   continue reading.….

Are you Getting Enough Magnesium?
Magnesium may not be a nutrient that you think about very often. But perhaps you should. Dietary surveys suggest that many people aren’t meeting the recommended intake and could be losing out on important health benefits. Magnesium is a mineral that plays an important role in bone health, energy production, protein synthesis and blood glucose…
continue reading.….

Book Review

The Man Who Lived in Three Centuries

After almost dying of an heart attack at age 34, Australian broker Eric Storm
mended  his lifestyle ways to enjoy another 70 years free of illness and full of
accomplishment, with the year 2000 being the final turning point  of a legendary
life across three centuries.

Like most Australians, you may believe that illness is a normal part of life, and
that after 40 or 50 years of age, we are inevitable over the hill.

Not so! Eric and thousands of other Australians, along with a number of primitive
populations, have demonstrated beyond any doubt that we can be well for life
if we choose.

A vast amount of research over the last  century have explained why many earlier
populations hardly know illness….. until they adopted the Western way of living.
The comparison is graphically illustrated with photographs in this book.

Illness and premature aging are ‘diseases of civilization’, that is: diseases of lifestyle.
This means that we have almost full control over whether our quality of life is
woeful or wonderful.

Author Roger French, when in his twenties, was sick and tired of being tired and sick.
This led him to abandon civil engineering and take up a career in Natural Health,
which has included seven years as manager of the Hopewood Health Retreat at Wallacia
NSW, and the past 19 years as Executive Director and Health Director of the National
Health Society of Australia.

Based on Roger and Eric’s experience, this book spells out a prescription for enjoying
life free of pain and cripling, with tons of vitality and extended youthfulness –
along with relative freedom from the fear of cancer, heart disease, stroke and other
life-threatening conditions.

By applying the guidelines presented in this book, it is possible for most of us to
revel in a quality of health that far exceeds our normal expectations.

Recipe of the Day by Jamie Oliver – Vegetarian – spinach and ricotta cannelloni
click here!

 More Health & Nutrition from Nutrobalance
Protection against genetic damage
Toxaemia – hidden Havoc
Boost your Energy Level and soothe the Nerves