2. Go To Bed After Midnight

In his book, The Maker's Diet, Jordan Rubin devotes a chapter to 27 recommendations on how to GET sick and suggests that if you want to remain healthy as long as possible, go against these 27 suggestions if at all possible. Every week I will post the next 'recommendation'.

2. Go To Bed After Midnight
This is a great way to get sick. From biblical times to just before the Industrial Revolution, people used to go to sleep and rise with the setting and rising of the sun. This is the natural way to link your peak activity to the body's natural hormonal rhythms.
D. Joseph Mercola believes the timing of your sleep affects its quality. He says, "The more hours that you can sleep before midnight, the better off you will be." He cites a study published in the Lancet (a respected medical journal in Great Britain) indicating chronic sleep loss produces serious symptoms mimicking the effects of aging and the early stages of diabetes (including age-related insulin resistance and memory loss). And finally, according to the late Elmer Josephson, "Authorities tell us that one hour of sleep before midnight is equivalent to four hours afterward."

1. Stay Out of the Sun

In his book, The Maker's Diet, Jordan Rubin devotes a chapter to 27 recommendations on how to GET sick and suggests that if you want to remain healthy as long as possible, go against these 27 suggestions if at all possible. Every week I will post the next 'recommendation' so that it will be a series.

1. Stay Out of the Sun
Civilizations throughout history have understood that the sun is vital to human health. The human skin uses the energy from the sun to manufacture vitamin D for the body. This hormone/vitamin is important for many reasons, including its role in strengthening immune system function and poper mineral absorption.
Critics claim that exposure to the UV rays of the sun cause higher rates of melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. This might be true for a small population segment - those with compromised immune systems who don't consume adequate nutrients (especially health fats). However, the people who actually get the most exposure to sunlight in different parts of the world exhibit the lowest incidence of skin cancer. The only logical explanantion is that exposure to sunlight is not unhealthy.
What is unhealthy is exposure to sunlight with the diets we consume. Rex Russell, M.D. notes that when sunlight activates the phytochemicals in healthy foods, consumption of these foods not only blocks the harmful effects of UV rays, but they also produce "antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer components, as well as pest repellents."

Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid (meaning that our bodies can produce it and are not required by the diet - the opposite being true for essential amino acids) and is the only naturally occuring beta-amino acid. The greatest natrual dietary sources of beta-alanine are believed to be obtained through ingesting beta-alanine containing dipeptides, found in protein rich foods such as chicken, beef, pork and fish.

Benefits of Beta-Alanine as supported by scientific studies:

• Increase Muscular Strength & Power Output.
• Increase Muscle Mass
• Increase Anaerobic Endurance
• Increase Aerobic Endurance
• Delay Muscular Fatigue - Train Harder & Longer

You can find this amino acid in Dub Muscle.

www.betaalanine.info

Asparagus

Mmmmm.....Asparagus!! I love this stuff!! And there are lots of reasons why, besides the fact that it tastes really good!

Asparagus is:

• great for your heart health because it is pumped full of folate. Folate is essential for a healthy cardiovascular system. Also, because asparagus has high amounts of folate, it makes it an excellent birth defect fighter. Without folate, the fetus' nervous system cells do not divide properly. Just one serving of asparagus supplies almost 66% of the daily recommended intake of folate!
• also a good source of potassium while being quite low in sodium. This, combined with an active amino acid, makes asparagus a great natural diuretic. Body builder competitors incorporate asparagus in their daily diets to help them keep off water weight. Apparently, asparagus has been used to treat problems involving swelling, such as arthritis and rheumatism, and may also be useful for PMS-related water retention (I just learned something new with that and I plan to put that to the test!!).
• contains a special kind of carbohydrate called inulin that we don't digest, but the health-promoting friendly bacteria in our large intestine do. When our diet contains good amounts of this carbohyrdrate, the growth and activity of the friendly bacteria increase, making it much more difficult for unfriendly bacteria to thrive.

So eat up!! Don't be afraid of the 'aspargus-pee' - it's benefits far outweigh that small detail! By the way, I looked up the reason for that, and it turns out it is due to sulfur-containing amino acids which break down after ingestion and lovingly creates that strange odor in urine. I also didn't know that only about 50% of the population may notice the smell!

One more note: Asparagus contains naturally-occuring substances called Purines. 'Since purines can be broken down to form uric acid, excess accumulation of purines in the body can lead to excess accumulation of uric acid.' Individuals with kidney probemes - like kidney stones- or gout (two examples of uric acid-related problems) may want to limit their intake of purine-containing foods. Asparagus is a wonderful health beneficial food, but in all things moderation!

Chart and some information adapted from www.whfoods.com

Cranberries

Cranberries have long been valued for their ability to help prevent and treat urinary tract infections. They are full of health-promoting antioxidants, which combat free radical activity and protect against damage to cellular structures and DNA. Recent studies show that this berry may also promote gastrointestinal and oral health, prevent the formation of kidney stones, lower LDL(bad) and raise HDL (good) cholesterol, aid in recovery from stroke, and even help prevent cancer.

Good news!!! Cranberries are in season! Everything holds their highest nutritional value when fresh and cranberries are at their peak from October through December.

Resveratrol

Dub Youth is an amazing product. I have had it tested by Dr. Steven Elmore, D.C. and I know that Youth is good product to take. It has several awesome ingredients, one of which I want to spotlight today.

"Chronic inflammation is believed to be at the root of many diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Synthetic anti-inflammatories cannot be taken on a regular basis to prevent chronic inflammation without risking other health problems. Natural anti-inflammatories, on the other hand, are found primarily in plant foods and can be consumed on a regular basis throughout a person's life with no side effects.
Since this is one of the natural anti-inflammatories, it is believed that the benefits of Resveratrol include the prevention of heart disease, cancer and other diseases associated with chronic inflammation. These are benefits that Resveratrol pills may provide.
Other benefits are being studied. It has an anti-aging effect on cells and is being studied for its effects on Alzheimer's."

You can read more about the ingredients at www.dubnutrition.com.

To The Rescue: Broccoli

Broccoli. One of many amazing super foods. I love broccoli when it is lightly steamed, so you aren't cooking out all the nutrients it is packed with, and still a bit crunchy. Yum!

1. is fiber-rich, which helps out your GI (gastrointestinal) tract.
2. reduces blood cholesterol levels
3. is loaded with Vitamin C, which aids iron absorption, prevents the development of cataracts, and eases the symptoms of colds.
4. has folic acid which helps women sustain normal tissue growth and helps fight birth defects
5. aids those battling high blood pressure and osteoporosis due to its high amounts of potassium.
6. contains the phytonutrients sulforaphane and the indoles, which have significant anti-cancer effects.
7. can optimize your cells' detoxification process
8. helps sun-damaged skin
9. has cardiovascular benefits
10. been linked to preventing and controlling Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, malignant tumors, athritis and even the aging process.

Now that's a lot of power in a little tiny veggie!!

Graph adapted from www.whfoods.com

Myth??: Soy

I think there are a lot of people out there who blindly believe what is being said about the 'health benefits' of soy. I am not convinced. Years ago, while reading The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin, I came across an interesting paragraph on soy. He was breaking down the benefits (extremely few) and downsides of the Vegetarian Diet.

"In Asia, soy products are never used as a primary food! There are used as condiments or in traditionally fermented forms. Unfermented soybeans and soy products are high in phytic acid, an antinutrient that carries minerals out of the body. Vegetarians are known for their frequent mineral deficiencies. The high phytate content of grain and legume-based diets is to blame. Processed soy products are rich in trypsin inhibitors, which inhibit protein digestion! Some recent researtch indicates that soy's phytoestrogens (or isoflavones) could be causative factors in breast cancer, penile birth defects, infantile leukemia, and depressed thryoid function. They have caused infertility in every animal species studied so far!"

Interesting, isn't it?? All of the research I can find supports and adds on to this. I have found other research claiming that soy can cause brain damage, lower sperm count, memory loss, and more. I strongly believe that it's wrong to feed infants soy formula. I can't even begin to comprehend why people would think that soy would be a great alternative just because their infant is allergic to dairy (which is another story all in itself). I found some research on that as well and was surprised to learn that an infant exclusively fed soy formula receives the estrogenic equivalent (based on body weight) of at least five birth control pills per day. Five!!! Per Day!!! Are you getting this people!! Add to this the alarming amount of estrogen and growth hormone found in the human body due to the meat industry and you are looking at disaster most commonly found in the form of cancer!!

Soy was only ever used by the Orient when fermented. The Chinese did not eat the soybean as they did other legumes because they knew that soybeans contain harmful substances.

Do a little research of the history of the soybean (I found this website by Thomas McPherson Brown M.D. helpful among others) and how it was used and why there is so much hype about it. You might be surprised to learn that it's all for money - as most everything in the 'health' industry is. Decide for yourself. Is the soybean for your health? There is so much information out there and I encourage you to go find it. Other resources you might find interesting on this subject are:
The Hidden Dangers of Soy by Dianne Gregg
The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla T. Daniel

The Aliases of Sugar

Added sugars in processed foods can be found under the following names:

Sugar (sucrose) - the refined crystallized sugar; a combination of glucose and fructose.
Dextrose (glucose) - a simple sugar made of only one molecule.
Lactose - a simple sugar from milk.
Maltose - a simple sugar made from starch, usually grains.
Maltodextrin - a manufactured sugar from maltose and dextrose.
Brown sugar - the refined sugar coated with molasses or coloured with caramel.
Raw sugar - a less refined sugar with a small amount of molasses remaining.
Fructose - a simple sugar refined from fruit.
Corn syrup - a manufactured syrup of corn starch, containing varying proportions of glucose, maltose, and dextrose. (see note below).
High-fructose corn syrup - a highly concentrated syrup of predominantly fructose.
White grape juice - a highly purified fructose solution; virtually no other nutrients are present.

Be aware that cornstarch, treated by heat or enzymes to make dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, corn sugar, and crystalline dextrose, is used to supplement sucrose in processed foods in order to: bring costs down, add colour and flavour, and retain bright colours in preserves, ketchup, and cured meat. This widespread use may be a cause of the increased allergies to corn.

Typically, when ingredients are listed on a product, they must be listed from largest amount down to smallest amount found in that product. Do not be fooled into thinking there is very little sugar in an item if it is not listed near the beginning. Often you will find three or four of the above aliases in the ingredient listing, meaning that in the end the product may be mostly sugar!

Taken from http://www.wholife.com/issues/10_1/02_article.html

Take Responsibility

I had the an opportunity to attend a seminar years ago by Robert Rakowski, DC, CCN, DACBN, DIBAK. This man is an incredible healer. I was amazed at the knowledge and simple truths that he shared and felt very fortunate to be in on that lecture. I have a lot of information from him to share but first I wanted to share this article he wrote about good health.

Health Starts Here
by Robert A. Rakowski, D.C., C.C.N.

A person can acquire all of the riches and power that the world has to offer, but without good health he really doesn't have anything!

Overall, the health of our society is deteriorating. The rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity continue to rise. Who is responsible for this health crisis? The government? The pharmaceutical industry? Fast food? New viruses? Antibiotic resistant bacteria? The cost-cutting approach of managed health care? No! We are all responsible for our own health. The level of health that we enjoy today is a direct result of the decisions that we made yesterday. And the choices we make today will affect our well-being tomorrow.

The key to good health is to act appropriately on good decisions. The good health most of us were born with is a gift, but it is a gift which requires maintenance and care. Health does not come in a bottle or pill. We must acquire the knowledge about what will maintain and promote good health and commit to making health-promoting and life-enriching choices.

True health is a balance of physical, bio-chemical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects.

Physical Health/Fitness
*Physical health and fitness can be achieved through a program that balances endurance, flexibility, speed and power.
*Endurance is listed first, because it increases the strength of the heart and thus its capacity to pump the blood that takes nourishment to the other organs of the body. As an added benefit, endurance training burns fat which leads to a leaner and healthier body.
*Flexibility is achieved through stretching.
Speed and power are developed through vigorous exercises like weightlifting or sprinting.

Bio-chemical Health
Bio-chemical health refers to nutrient absorption and toxin elimination. Eight of the top ten causes of death in the United States are related to nutrition. The nutrients in our food become the building blocks for the repair and replacement of all of the cells of our bodies. If we don't use good building blocks, we can't build good cells. Without healthy cells we cannot build healthy bodies.
*Nutrient absorption requires good digestion. Digestion can be improved by using digestive enzyme supplements and combining foods that digest at the same rate. If you can't absorb it, you can't use it.
*Elimination of toxins usually follows when a wholesome natural diet is consumed. Additionally, two quarts of purified water each day helps to prime the elimination system.

Mental Health
Mental health can be defined as a feeling of inner peace with control of mental faculties. A person will experience inner peace to the extent that he feels that he is in control of his circumstances. Goal setting and daily planning sessions will help to organize what we can control, and thus enhance our mental health.

Emotional Health
Emotional health can be defined as the ability to stay strong in spite of difficult circumstances. We will all experience setbacks in life. However, it is not what sets us back that is important but rather how we respond to it.

Spiritual Health
Spirituality can be defined in terms of one's own beliefs. Nearly all belief systems recognize a higher power and teach that we should treat others as we would like to be treated. Ancient scriptures teach that you should seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will follow.

These fundamental aspects help us all to achieve balance and excellence in the physical, bio-chemical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of life. We must remember that our good health is a gift for which to be grateful and a treasure to be cherished. We must take responsibility for ourselves and our bodies. We must be able to look into the mirror and remind ourselves that "Good health starts here."