Eating To Increase Your Life Span
And Reduce Your Waistband
What is your philosophy on health? What beliefs have you taken on about what causes disease in the body and what creates optimal health? What is your foundation for creating great health? The perspective that you take towards your health can be the most important decision you ever make in your life. Do you really know where your beliefs come from regarding vital health? Most of us have taken very little time to examine the choices we make when it comes to our overall health.
The biggest obstacle I see when it comes to a life of vitality and health is that most of our beliefs are formed unconsciously. We hear some piece of information from an advertiser, a friend, a family member, government bodies, or medical professionals, and we implant that information into our data bank and hold it as true, without evaluating it first. This would be alright if everybody acted with good intentions in this world, if they did and said things that had your best interests in mind. However, this is not always the case. You must first make an intel igent, educated decision before adopting some of these beliefs and ideas.
Take the weight loss industry as one example. Every time a new program comes along, it is often designed to give you a quick fix. Do you think these companies have your best interests in mind for your overall health? Do you think when a drug company produces a commercial that there is no financial gain for them? I am not saying information is bad, but the information you take in should be evaluated with common sense, and it should have a proven track record. We must take control of the decisions we make about our health.
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Question everything; leave nothing to
chance
In the area of health, what beliefs do you hold as true right now? How do these beliefs serve you? What if you were able to open your mind, let go of your convictions, and expand yourself with new information so you can make new choices?
What is great health?
Science says that great health means a person has energy, feels well, and is free of illness. I would define health as a state of well-being -- mentally, physically, emotionally and socially. It’s not just the absence of disease in the body, but having an abundance of healthy energy.
Healthy cells create a healthy body
The energy your body needs is derived from the metabolic processes that take place in your cells. Cells are the building blocks of your life, and the quality of your health is dependent on the quality of your cells. It is estimated that the body can have as many as 100 trillion cells. Each one of these cells has a specific job to carry out. Take, for example, your red blood cells. The job of the red blood cells is to carry oxygen to cells throughout the body. Each cell’s job is essential for keeping the body alive and healthy.
Without healthy cells, you will have a poor quality of life.
As the image on the next page shows, bone cells differ from blood cells, and nerve cells differ from muscle cells.
Each cell is designed to do a different job. Nerve cells carry electrical signals to and from the brains and muscles throughout the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen. Bone cells, which are very rigid, form the skeleton that gives the body shape. Muscle cells contract to move the bones and give us mobility. Stomach cells secrete an acid to digest Think, Act, Love, Lose Weight
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Types of Cells
Blood
Nerve
Bone
Muscle
our food. Cells in our intestines absorb nutrients from the food we eat. The one thing these cel s al have in common is that they change nutrients into energy to keep us alive.
Healthy mental attitude
Positive, peaceful thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and attitudes have a huge effect on our cells. When you remove the stress from your life, and provide the body with energy, the cells and body start to heal themselves. The natural state of the body’s cells is peace, balance, harmony, and ease. This is a good way to understand the word health: the body’s natural state when the cells are not stressed.
Exercise, deep breathing, and your cells Exercise and deep breathing are critical to maintaining healthy cells and a healthy body. When you exercise, you help oxygenate the cells and, in return, your cells start to work at an optimum level. And research has shown that the best way to get the lymphatic system working is through deep breathing.
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Let me explain the lymphatic system more in-depth.
Lymph vessels form a drainage system throughout the body.
The lymphatic fluid carries away the debris of our immune system, including dead white blood cells, unused plasma protein, and toxins. The heart pumps blood around the body, transporting nutrients and oxygen to the cells. The cells then absorb what they need, and excrete debris and toxins, which are then flushed out and deactivated by the lymphatic fluid. This lymphatic fluid drains into the circula-tory system and becomes part of the blood and plasma that pass through the kidneys and liver.
The lymphatic system does not have a built-in pump like the heart. It relies on breathing and movement to circulate all that fluid and remove waste. When you have a poorly functioning lymphatic system, your body cannot detoxify properly. If your lymphatic fluid is not flowing as well as it should, then you are not breathing properly and moving your body enough.
The consequences are weight gain, muscle loss, high blood pressure, loss of energy, and inflammation. Just by expanding and contracting your diaphragm, you can stimulate the lymphatic system and send signals to the internal organs, helping the body to rid itself of toxins and leave more room in the cells for optimal levels of oxygen.
It is extremely important to exercise and do breathing exercises to keep your cells healthy.
Cell protection
One of the most important things a cell needs to protect itself from all the toxins flowing through the body is to have the ability to eliminate waste efficiently. Blood carries body wastes from the cells to the kidneys and the lungs, the organs that eliminate wastes from the body. In the kidneys, cell wastes are filtered out of the body and excreted in the urine. In the lungs, carbon dioxide, a product of Think, Act, Love, Lose Weight
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respiration, is removed from the blood and expelled when you breathe out.
The best way to fight disease in the body is to have a strong, healthy immune system. Those who maintain their immune system at optimal performance are more likely to avoid pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, and all the other complications that come with having a weak immune system. Science has shown that we are only as healthy as our cells. We only grow old when our cells grow old.
Environmental pollutants and your cells Our cells need to have as much clean air and clean water as we can get for them to work well. The air we breathe is polluted with toxic emissions from vehicles, chemicals from factories, heavy metals from cigarettes, smoke, dust, and chemicals from appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators. The fact is, there are pollutants in our environment you cannot avoid, unless you want to move to a secluded island, which may just be your best choice. For most of us, however, this is not a realistic option.
The water we bathe in and drink is usually no better than the air we breathe. It contains chlorine, heavy metals, toxic, organic chemicals from factories, pesticides, and herbicides. The water we drink plays an important role in the detoxification of our cells and in cellular nutrition. Cells have to be well hydrated for the proper elimination of toxins and assimilation of nutrients.
What creates a healthy environment for the cells in the body? Proper water intake — good, clean water, not tap water or impure bottled water — is one of the most important aspects of good health. It raises your pH balance so that your body stays alkaline. A cell will become unhealthy when there’s an imbalance in the cell’s environ-Chapter 7: Eating To Increase Your Life & Reduce Your Waist http://www.free-ebooks.net/t/98
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ment. An acidic environment can lead to the development of diseases, including cancer.
Chlorophyll
One of the best cellular detoxifying agents is chlorella.
Only chlorella contains a “high-fiber cell wall”, that researchers have shown to be capable of removing heavy metals, such as mercury, cadmium, nickel, and lead, from the body. It is also capable of removing toxic chemicals such as dioxins and PCBs. Chlorella performs a function no other whole food can.
Significantly, chlorella is very rich in chlorophyll, a natural cleanser that is acknowledged as the best detoxifying agent for the cells of the body. It has been shown to remove chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic organic chemicals. Chlorophyll also cleanses the blood, helping to keep cells clean. Besides its potent detoxifying properties, chlorella is also rich in Chlorel a Growth Factor (CGF), which helps revitalize and rejuvenate the cells. CGF
is high in RNA and DNA, and is touted as an anti-aging factor.
Oxygen is vital for energy
What is the most critical element that our cells require in order to operate at their best? To live a life full of energy and vitality, you need adequate oxygen. The problem is most of us do not get sufficient amounts of oxygen. According to NASA, which ensures that astronauts have enough oxygen in space, the average person requires 0.84 kg of oxygen per day. Most of us are taking in less than half of our required daily intake of oxygen. If you take in more oxygen, you will notice a definite change in the quality of your life.
Oxygen generates a molecule in the body called ATP.
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The body needs ATP to survive; it is the engine that powers all of the cell’s activities. Think about what you are doing when you breathe. You are taking in oxygen, and that oxygen generates energy.
When you take in too much food, your body has trouble digesting all of it, so your energy level decreases. As a result, your body has trouble eliminating the toxins swim-ming around in your system. Your body then holds onto more water and fat. When you have excess water and fat in your system, there is less space in between your cells.
And if you have less space in between your cells, you have less oxygen. If we stay on this same track, our body eventually starts to break down, our looks start to fade, our energy levels deplete, and maintaining our overall health becomes a constant struggle.
To prevent this from happening, we have to get our lymphatic system working. Think about your lymphatic system like your heart; your heart is the pump that keeps everything moving. To stay alive and healthy, you need to pump your lymphatic system by moving. If you don’t move, the lymph system cannot cleanse your body. You actually have more lymphatic fluid in your body than you do blood.
The key is to keep that lymphatic fluid moving, and you are the pump.
It is critical that you move. But even more importantly, research has shown that the best way to get the lymphatic system working optimally is through deep breathing. Most of us don’t breathe properly throughout the day. Master correct breathing and you will keep your lymphatic system pumping.
Cleansing breath
1. Breathe normally, in through your nose and out through your mouth.
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2. When you breathe, clear your lungs completely by pushing out the last part of the breath in short spurts through your mouth.
3. Take a deep breath through your nose, using your diaphragm to pull your lungs down and outward (rather than pushing your chest out and shoulders back).
4. Release your breath slowly.
5. Clear your lungs completely, and breathe using the 1-4-2 ratio. Breathe in for 1 count, hold for 4
counts, and exhale for 2 counts.
6. Now breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 16 counts, and release for 8 counts. Try it one more time.
As your lung capacity increases, you will be able to breathe in for a longer period of time. For example, breathe in for 8 counts, hold for 32 counts, and release for 16
counts. Repeat this routine 3 times per day. Do this when you awake in the morning, after you have had your glass of water, and twice more throughout the day. This will not take very long.
This is such an easy process to increase your energy, fight off toxins, and live a much longer, healthier life. Now that you realize the power of the breath, your job is to take action and follow through. I can only give you the knowledge.
You have to do the doing part, and then you will shift into the being part. You will have taken on a new life habit. The being part is when you have mastered it, when it becomes part of your everyday lifestyle.
Quality water
What causes you to be dehydrated?
Without oxygen, we will die within minutes. Without food, an adult can live several weeks. And without water, Think, Act, Love, Lose Weight
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we can survive about 10 days. Water is essential to human life. It forms the basis for all bodily fluids, including blood and digestive juices; it helps eliminate waste; and it assists in the transportation and absorption of all our nutrients.
Water is the single largest component of the body: the brain is 76% water, blood is 84% water, the lungs are 90% water, and blood plasma is 98% water.
The average adult loses more than 10 cups (close to 2.5 liters) of water every single day, simply by sweating, breathing, and eliminating waste. We generally replace this lost water through the fluids we drink and the food we eat. But when you eliminate more water and salts than you replace, dehydration sets in -- your system literally dries up. Even in a state of mild dehydration, things like fatigue, decreased coordination, and loss of judgment will set in.
You will also lose minerals such as sodium, potassium, and calcium that maintain the balance of fluids in your body.
Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of not drinking enough water because you are sick, busy, or because you lack access to good quality water while traveling.
Warning signs of dehydration
The U.S. National Library of Medicine lists these common warning signs of significant dehydration:
• Not being able to urinate, or urinating very little
• Urine that is highly concentrated and dark yellow in color
• Not being able to produce tears
• Sunken eyes
• In infants, the soft spot on the head is significantly sunken
• Lethargy, dizziness, or lightheadedness
• Dry mouth
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If your body is hydrated, you should be producing colorless urine. Side effects of dehydration can include stress, headaches, back pain, asthma, weight gain, allergies, high blood pressure, and Alzheimer’s disease.
What is a healthy amount of water to drink?
The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of water a day, and women, 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) per day. You should always be sipping water, and never go more than 15 or 20 minutes without. The very first thing you should do when you get out of bed is have a big glass of water with lemon in it. After a night’s sleep is when you are the most dehydrated and toxic. Also, drink water 15 to 20 minutes before a meal to support the digestive process.
Can you overdose on water?
A 2005 study in the New England Journal of Medicine
found that close to one-sixth of marathon runners develop some degree of hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water, resulting in very low blood sodium levels. This condition has made many people very sick and even close to death.
In humans, the kidneys control the amount of water, salts, and other solutes leaving the body by filtering blood through their millions of twisted tubules. When a person drinks excessive amounts of water, the kidneys cannot flush it out fast enough, and the blood becomes waterlogged.
Drawn to regions where the concentration of salt and other dissolved substances is higher, excess water leaves the blood and ultimately enters the cells, which swell like balloons to accommodate it. This includes moving into the brain cells. The brain cells then have no room to expand.
They press against the skul and compress the brain stem, which controls some of our most important functions like breathing. The results can be deadly.
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power of water, reminds us of the importance of balancing sodium intake with water consumption. He recommends the following: Take ¼ teaspoon of salt per quart (about 4-5 glasses) of water. Make sure you’re taking the right kind of salt, NOT table salt. The best form of salt to use is Celtic sea salt or Himalayan sea salt.
Is tap water healthy?
In 2005, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested municipal water in 42 states and detected some 260 contaminants in public water supplies, 140 of which were unregulated chemicals. In other words, public officials have no safety standards for these chemicals, or any plans for how to remove them.
The bottom line is clean drinking water is a very scarce commodity. It won’t be long before the world is fighting over water instead of oil. National statistics do not tell us about the quality and safety of the water that is coming out of our taps. This is because drinking water quality varies from place to place, depending on the source and the treatment it receives. Many of our faucets are drawing polluted water.
Think about this. We have miles and miles of pipes under our streets and homes. Are these pipes securely sealed? Can germs, rust, corrosion, seepage, rats, and all kinds of other hazards get into our tap water before we draw it out of the tap and pour it into the glasses we drink from?
Is bottled water healthy?
Some bottled water is treated more than tap water, and some is treated less or not at all. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has researched bottled water extensively, and found that the standards for the treatment and testing of bottled water are not as high as those for tap water. Bottled water is tested less frequently than tap water for bacteria and chemical contaminants. Addition-Chapter 7: Eating To Increase Your Life & Reduce Your Waist http://www.free-ebooks.net/t/98
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ally, the U.S Food and Drug and Administration allows for some contamination by E. coli or fecal contaminants in the water, contrary to the EPA tap water rules, which prohibit any such contamination. This may be a good indication that bottled water may not be the best choice.
Eric Olsen, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, says the realization that bottled water is seldom of higher quality than tap water has caused a major shift in opinion.
San Francisco, Los Angles, Phoenix, Chicago, St. Louis, and many other cities have made it illegal to spend city dollars on bottled water.
Powerful reasons not to drink bottled water All plastic bottles leach synthetic chemicals into water, some more than others. Massive amounts of greenhouse gases are produced from manufacturing plastic bottles.
All tallied, 60 million plastic bottles a day are disposed of in America alone! Mil ions of gal ons of fuel are wasted daily transporting filtered tap water across America and around the world. It requires three times as much water to make the bottles as it does to fill them. It is a massive, wasteful industry. Just about every study on bottled water shows contamination from bacteria or synthetic chemicals. Approximately 80 percent of bottled water brands are processed water. This means that municipal or tap water has been run through a filtration system to remove impurities or chemicals. Take, for example, Dasani (from Coke) or Aquafina (from Pepsi). These waters are simply bottled from municipal water supplies. I just can’t see any good in promoting the bottled water industry.
What is the best type of water?
Here is a very simple alternative to using bottled water and polluting our world. The best way to have pure water is to eliminate all contaminants that come out of your tap.
With the right home water filtration system, you can have complete control over what you drink. To have a great, healthy life, you cannot afford to leave it to chance. This Think, Act, Love, Lose Weight
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is the most economical, most convenient, and healthiest alternative to tap or bottled water. A home water filtration system will be the most valuable home appliance you own; it will ensure the safety of your drinking water for you and your family. Think of the importance of having healthy, chemical-free water. It literally could save your life. Join the millions of informed consumers who “just say no” to bottled water and tap water. It is healthier for you, for our economy, for your family, and for our planet. All good brands are certified by NSF International, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based nonprofit standards group. You can now enjoy great-tasting, purified water, and rest easy that the water you are drinking is free of pollutants and cancer-causing toxins.
Extreme nutrition
This program is designed to show you how to get maximum energy -- the most powerful resource we have within us to maximize our capacity as human beings. At times, you may notice that your energy is depleted, your body is out of balance, and you are not operating at an optimal level. Keeping your energy up and your body balanced is simple. By maintaining a proper ratio between the acidity and alkalinity in your body, you can re-energize your life.
Basically, the foods you are putting in your body and which foods you are combining together determine if you are going to maintain great health. Being overweight, fatigued, or lethargic are all caused by having too much acid in the body. The typical American diet produces a vast amount of acid in the body. It is impossible to be truly healthy when the body is consistently producing high acid levels.
Dr. Robert O. Young, in his book, The pH Miracle, puts it like this: “Those willing to look again, and with clear eyes, will be rewarded with the secrets to permanent health.” We can heal ourselves by changing the environment inside Chapter 7: Eating To Increase Your Life & Reduce Your Waist http://www.free-ebooks.net/t/98
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our bodies. Potential y harmful invaders wil then have nowhere to grow and will become harmless. The concept of acid/alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease in the body is not a new one. Edgar Cayce was one of the very first to aim to alkalize the body through detoxification with herbs, fasting, colonics, massages, steam baths, and diet modification.
Sam Whang, the author of the book, Reverse Aging,
says, “Even if we eat organic fruit and vegetables, 97% of our food still consists of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. This will still be reduced to acid waste.” He says it is not what we put in our bodies, but what stays in our bodies as waste that creates the condition of being overly acidic, and causes us to age prematurely. In terms of acid/
alkaline balance, says Whang, the only difference between good food and bad food is that good food wil have less acid waste and more acid neutralizing results. Your pH balance depends on what is left after metabolism.
The smart dieters I know who have created an alkaline balance in their bodies have a better quality of life. You start experiencing massive improvement in health. Your mind becomes stronger, your energy increases, your stamina and strength build, your concentration improves, and your body becomes resistant to diseases. And, of course, you lose weight. Your entire body functions more efficiently, just as it was meant to.
Balance in the body is a very important concept. If we want our bodies to function properly, it comes down to balance. For example, we know that when our muscles work hard, they must get sufficient rest. When you breathe, you must inhale and then exhale. When you consume calories, you must burn them off. In addition, when the body produces toxins, it must be capable of eliminating them.
The way the body works is fascinating. Vitamins, minerals, sugars, fatty acids, amino acids, and various other elements are responsible for guiding the body to grow and Think, Act, Love, Lose Weight
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function properly. It sounds complex but it is real y very basic: Each of these components is designed to fulfil a unique purpose, and as a result of working by themselves or with other components, the body is able to perform all of our daily activities without us asking anything of it. Each one of these components that make up the body can be categorized as either an alkaline (or basic) substance or an acidic substance. The same amount of acids and alkalis is what is meant by the term pH balance.
Acids and alkaline substances are unique because they can oppose and complement each other at the same time. If you want to have a healthy body, you must have a balance of acids and alkalis. If you are eating a nutritionally balanced diet, it is not that difficult to balance the two.
When acidity and alkalinity are not balanced in the body, a number of health issues can arise.
At this point, you are probably wondering what pH
means. The p stands for potential and the H stands for hydrogen. So then, what is potential hydrogen? It refers to the ability to attract hydrogen ions. In simpler terms, pH
means the acid/alkaline balance. The pH scale runs from 0 to 14, with the number 7 being the neutral point. The farther below seven you go, the more acidic you are. The higher above seven, the more alkaline you are.
Anyone consuming a typical American diet will most always be low on the pH scale. Put simply, they have too much acid in their system. For those who find the right balance, weight loss is simple. If you want to lose weight, you just have to increase your alkalinity. When alkaline and acidic foods come together, they can neutralize each other. However, to achieve this effect, they have to come together in certain proportions. It takes about 20 times more alkaline substances in the blood to neutralize a given amount of acid. What this means is you need to take in a lot more alkalizing foods than acidic foods. Once you get to a healthy pH level, it is a lot easier to maintain it than it is to initially get to that healthy pH level from an overly acidic state.
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So what actually constitutes a healthy body? Well, mainstream medicine says you should have a reading of about 7.3 to 7.45 for a normal blood pH level. “Normal” is based on the average American; the problem is that the average American is overweight or obese. This means that this range does not reflect the pH level of a healthy person! Dr. Robert Young suggests you should be in the range from 7.350 to 7.380, and the ideal would be 7.365
(sligh