Spiritually: Galatians 5:22, 23 “…But the fruit of the Spirit is
…self-control…” (NIV).
Grace-based health and nutrition is so
much better than works-based. In my
experience, self-control is not the same as strong will-power. Godly self-control is the God-given ability
to control all my appetites. The
principle is -- and I guess the ideal is -- that I won’t be controlled by
anything except God. Fruit (of the
spirit) has to have time to grow. Once
this fruit of self-control is developed, it will keep on carrying me long after
any effort from my will-power has given up.
I like to think it is more about God’s power – not so much about
my own.
Mentally: Find
out what 80% of your heart rate is for your age, weight, etc. If you have done the first two weeks of the
plan, you should be ready to do this next step.
Understanding your training range is important. Staying under that range won’t burn fat. Going over that range will burn fat faster
but is difficult to maintain. I like
using interval training pushing it to about 80% most of the time.
Schedule: Getting your heart rate up to about 80% for
one minute, then taking it down to 40 or 50% for one minute and repeating this for
at least 12-30 minutes three or four times this week is interval training. Then cool down for at least 5 minutes. It doesn’t matter what machine you do it on,
just so your heart rate gets up. Sprints
and jogging work, but I don’t recommend it because of the higher injury
potential. I blew both my heels out when
I tried it on the track (Plantar Fasciitis) and it took me two painful years to
recover. The Stairmaster machine works
the best for me. Swimming is another
good option. Challenge yourself but
don’t hurt yourself!
Eating: The information below is on antioxidants.
Report: How’s it going? This is week 3; any progress yet? Are habits forming? Who are two people you can talk to about what
you’re doing? It is amazing how we can
inspire each other!
After the
age of 20, and more so after the age of 40, vital substances that protect our
bodies begin to decline. In men, there is a decline in testosterone, which
falls off dramatically after the age of 40 or 50. The same is true with the
vital adrenal hormone DHEA that converts to testosterone.
At around
50, the presence of Coenzyme Q10 falls off dramatically. At the same time, the
pineal gland starts to shut down at an increasing rate and leaves the body, and
especially the brain, vulnerable to age-related degeneration and destruction.
As these hormonal processes are taking place, our bodies also experience
destructive assaults from outside. There is pollution in the air from chemicals
emitted by manufacturing and from tobacco smoke.
There are
pollutants and excess minerals in most of the water that we drink. Ultraviolet
rays from sunlight damage and age our skin. Some chickens and beef are fed
antibiotics and steroids to cause them to fatten quickly before they are
marketed. When we ingest the flesh of these animals, we experience further
assault. Fish, while otherwise having health benefits, may contain toxic
mercury; plus, some mercury gets into the body from mercury-containing dental
fillings. Fluoride from most drinking water and aluminum from various dietary
sources also add to the body’s metal burden.
In addition,
during the complex processes of living, our bodies produce substances which
attack our cells. These products of our own bodies are called free radicals
that result when we breathe oxygen and burn food for energy. Free radicals are
produced in large quantities by strenuous energy-producing work or exercise.
The free radicals are called such because each free radical is missing an
electron which makes it unstable and sends it on a course of destruction seeking
its missing electron from otherwise healthy cells.
Even our DNA
can be attacked by free radicals — up to 100,000 free radicals per day. The
rate of the most serious DNA damage by free radicals increases ten-fold from
the age of 20 to the age of 65. Dr.
Bruce Ames at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown that the lack of
antioxidant nutrients like selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E and others can result
in DNA damage that mimics the same damage to DNA caused by exposure to atomic radiation.
It is these
free radicals from within or without that cause a weakening of our cells and
bring about the many conditions associated with aging and such increasingly
frequent ailments as cancer, heart condition, atherosclerotic disease, and very
possibly all the neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s
and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s). People use the term “rust out” to describe some of the
processes of aging and the term is not too far off because it is oxidation that
causes the rusting in metal and it is the oxidation brought about by free radicals
that can cause gradual or very rapid aging in every human being.
According to
the book by Klatz and Goldman, published by Keats Publishing, Inc., titled Stopping The Clock, “Over 100 studies
have shown that people with a high level of beta carotene in their diet and
blood are only about half as likely to develop cancer in the lungs, mouth, throat,
esophagus, larynx, stomach, breasts, or bladder.
Harvard
Research studying some 87,000 female nurses found that a high intake of vitamin
C cut the risk of heart disease about 20 percent; high doses of vitamin E
caused the risk to drop by 34 percent; and high levels of beta carotene cut heart
disease risks by 22 percent. Moreover, high doses of all three vitamins slash
the risk of heart disease by 50 percent. Coenzyme Q10 helps prevent
atherosclerosis, angina, and heart attacks.” CoQ10 also helps prevent cancer
and neurodegenerative diseases.
To think that
it is so simple and so inexpensive to prevent the ravages of aging! It is a mistake
to think that aging is a disease or that the apparent effects of old age and
senility are natural consequences of growing old.
You can read
two excellent books, Stopping The Clock,
(just mentioned), and Judy Lindberg McFarland’s, Aging Without Growing Old, published by Western Front, Ltd. With a few simple vitamins and minerals you
can clearly cut the risks of cancer, heart disease, hardening of the arteries,
lesions of the skin, diabetes, and very possibly Alzheimer’s by regularly taking
the following substances which can be obtained at any health food store.
1. Multivitamin. Your vitamin schedule should include
a therapeutic multivitamin with minerals. The so-called minimum daily
requirements of vitamins published by the government are frankly nonsense. This
may be adequate to prevent pellagra and scurvy, but it hardly gives you the
protection you need to maintain the cells of your body at peak performance.
Sometimes the
therapeutic multivitamin and mineral preparation will include the necessary antioxidant
vitamins and minerals without further supplementation. Supplement with larger
quantities than even the high-potency multivitamins provide. A good multivitamin
will contain the essential B-Complex vitamins, plus many of the trace minerals
like copper, zinc, magnesium, calcium, etc., necessary for good health. Most women,
after menopause, and adult men should avoid vitamins containing iron. Iron accumulates
with aging and is one of the most powerful free radical generators known.
2. Vitamin E. Supplement the multivitamin with
enough vitamin E to bring your daily intake up to between 400-800 IU per day.
Vitamin E is considered the most effective biologic antioxidant. Vitamin E prevents
the oxidation of cells and is a powerful antioxidant protecting against air pollution,
damage against radiation, prevents clotting of blood vessels, prevents stroke,
and strengthens the immune system. In addition, several studies have shown
vitamin E’s protective effect against the neurodegenerative diseases. It is
particularly helpful for any type of endurance athletics.
Some doctors
have found that vitamin E returns an aging person’s immunity to almost youthful
levels. In one test with vitamin E, white blood cells that fight infection were
up 10-50 percent within thirty days. Some other immune functions were up 80-90
percent. The free radicals in chemical air pollution attack the cells of our
lungs. Vitamin E short-circuits the creation of lipid peroxide molecules
according to Drs. Klatz and Goldman. Vitamin E reduces clotting of the blood
and, therefore, reduces the risk of stroke.
Most
surgeons or dentists would recommend against taking vitamin E just prior to surgery
because of their desire to minimize blood flow during those procedures. A 3 d-alpha tocopherol succinate is the best
variety, followed by E composed of mixed tocopherols. However, avoid synthetic vitamin
E (acetate) because it is poorly absorbed (especially in the brain) and has no effect
on cancer.
3. Beta carotene. 10,000 IU per day. One doctor found,
“Those physicians who took 50 milligrams (80,000 IU) of beta carotene as a supplement
every other day had not quite half as many heart attacks, strokes, and deaths
as those who did not.” Vitamin A not only protects against infection, but also seems
to be one of the most important nutrients against cancer.
Vitamin A is
helpful in stimulating an immune function that is suppressed by extensive
surgery and can correct age-related immune dysfunction, returning immunity to a
more youthful condition. It is said to limit oxidation-type reactions that neutralize
free radicals inside the cells. (Beta-carotene produces vitamin A in the body
without some of the dangerous side effects of taking vitamin A directly.
Vitamin A in
very large doses has been found to be toxic, but usually that toxicity is in
the 50,000 to 100,000 IU level of vitamin A a day, which is much higher than
what is normally recommended.) Nevertheless, studies of beta carotene, which
converts to vitamin A in the liver, found no toxicity at any concentration in all
age groups, including children.
Beta carotene
is part of a class of nutrients called carotenoids — 40 of which are in the
human diet. Consider taking a supplement of mixed carotenoids that contains not
only beta carotene, but substances like lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin. None
of these converts to vitamin A and they are especially potent against cancer.
4. Vitamin C. The third in the trio of essential
antioxidant vitamins is vitamin C. Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling recommends
dosages as high as 17,000 milligrams. For therapeutic benefit, at least 1,000
milligrams, which could be split into two 500-milligram doses daily. If a cold
or flu is coming on, step up to 5,000 milligrams twice a day. Vitamin C is a
potent antioxidant to protect against cellular damage. It helps with wound
healing and burns. It provides for the proper functioning of the nervous system
and plays a role in protecting against excitotoxicity.
Excitotoxins
are found in foods under names like aspartame (sweetener), monosodium glutamate
(MSG), hydrolyzed protein and yeast extract. Excitotoxins can stimulate brain
cells to death and produce huge numbers of free radicals, according to nutritional
neuroscientist Dr. Russell Blaylock, author of Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills.
Vitamin C
increases resistance to infections. It raises HDL (which is good cholesterol).
It protects against industrial pollutants. It protects from cardiovascular
disease and prevents the build-up of atherosclerotic plaque on the blood vessel
walls. With absence of vitamin C there can be excessive bleeding, bruising,
muscle weakness and painful joints, and very slow healing of wounds.
This vitamin
also protects against the harmful nitrosamines produced by eating deli meats,
sausage, and bacon. With vitamin C, make sure that it contains what is called a
“citrus bioflavonoid complex” which is derived from the rind of citrus. The
bioflavonoids are free radical scavengers, help prevent bruising, and decrease
the permeability and fragility of blood vessels (which lead to varicose veins
and hemorrhoids.) The bioflavonoids make vitamin C much more powerful.
Get 1,000
milligrams of vitamin C each, and 500 milligrams of bioflavonoids mixed together
with the vitamin C. The bioflavonoids prolong the activity of the vitamin C in
the bloodstream and help to control iron in the body. For some people, taking a
buffered vitamin C may be preferable as this variety is easily absorbed and
prevents stomach irritation. Many studies have indicated that vitamin C reduces
the risk of cancers of the colon, pancreas, esophagus, rectum, and especially the
stomach.
Vitamin C reverses
the biological clock by rejuvenating white blood cells in the elderly. According
to one study cited by Klatz and Goldman and conducted by researchers at the
University of California/Los Angeles in 1992, of 11,000 people, men who
consumed the most vitamin C (about 150 milligrams a day) had a 35 percent lower
mortality rate than men who consumed only 30 milligrams a day. According to
them, some 120 studies show that “Vitamin C is a virtual vaccination against
cancer.”
The vitamin
is also vital in protecting the brain, especially in conjunction with vitamin
E. Alzheimer’s patients have very low brain vitamin C levels. Taken together,
these principal antioxidant vitamins have a synergistic effect which clearly
causes those who take them to have a much lower risk of debilitating disease,
especially heart disease and cancer.
Considering
how cheap and plentiful these vitamins are, it would be foolish not to take
them sufficient quantities to maintain good health or reverse some of the effects
of ill health. If your therapeutic multivitamin tablet is deficient, take supplemental
beta-carotene (A), E, and C. There are three other essential antioxidants which
can help reverse aging and bring about more radiant health.
5. Selenium.
The absence of a mineral called selenium can increase the risk of cancer
and heart disease. Without selenium, neither vitamin E nor glutamine are nearly
as effective. Even those who keep horses notice that the absence of selenium in
pastures can lead to a wasting and sickness in horses. Regional studies found a
correlation between the so-called “stroke belt” (Georgia and the Carolinas, where
the stroke rate is by far the highest in the US) and low levels of selenium in
the soil and water.
A landmark study
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that a supplement
of 200 micrograms of organically bound selenium (SelenoExcell is one) reduced
the occurrence of virtually every form of cancer. There is some level of toxicity
of selenium over 1,000 micrograms and, therefore, it is unwise to consider any
more than 400 micrograms. Selenium is necessary for growth and protein
synthesis, and it serves as an antioxidant for the cells to protect against
oxygen exposure and exposure to toxic pollutants.
According to
Drs. Klatz and Goldman, “Selenium works with the antioxidant glutathione
(derived from glutamine) to bind the toxic heavy metals mercury, lead, and
cadmium in a process called chelation. Selenium also helps detoxify peroxidized
fats, alcohol, tobacco smoke, and drugs.”
6. Alpha Lipoic Acid. Christian physician, Dr. Charles
Warne, says alpha lipoic acid will enhance physical performance and is
described by Judy Lindberg McFarland as “an exciting antioxidant which is an
important link in the vital antioxidant network and it is multifunctional.”
According to
Judy in her excellent book, Aging Without
Growing Old, alpha lipoic acid “has been shown to energize metabolism, to
be a key compound for producing energy in the muscles, and it is important for
everything we do from physical activity to thinking. Alpha lipoic acid unlocks energy
from food calories and directs these calories away from fat production to
energy production. The excitement about this nutrient can be seen in the many
recent studies focusing on how alpha lipoic acid improves the physique, combats
free radicals, protects our genetic material, slows aging, helps protect
against heart disease, cancer, cataracts, and diabetes, and many other diseases.”
The body
makes a small amount of lipoic acid, but you will need a supplement as you age.
Between 100 and 200 milligrams, depending on your weight. Will do. Alpha lipoic acid is available in health food
stores. It is not recommended for pregnant women until further studies have
been completed.
7. Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10, which is described by Drs.
Klatz and Goldman as “the miracle heart medicine.” John Rea, who at age 49 came
in third in the world in the 26-Hour Double Ironman Triathlon (just think 200
miles bicycling, 52 miles running, and 4 miles swimming — nonstop for twenty-six
hours), said that one of his secrets was the continuous ingestion of the
vitamins and minerals I have been recommending plus large quantities of
Coenzyme Q10. CoQ10 is important to energy manufacturing in the human body and
is found in the mitochondrial membranes where it manufactures adenosine triphosphate
(ATP).
ATP is the
basic energy molecule of the entire human body. It is needed in great
quantities in cardiac tissue cells and also in the organ that purifies waste (the
liver). According to Drs. Klatz and Goldman, “CoQ10 declines rapidly beginning
at age 20, and dropping almost 80 percent at the end of middle age. Some researchers
believe that the loss of CoQ10 is related to degenerative heart disease at the age
of 50. Other possible reasons for the body’s depletion of this enzyme could be attributed
to free radical damage to mitochondrial membranes or perhaps the process of
lipid peroxidation — the same process that makes butter rancid, that damages
other membranes in our cells.”
CoQ10
protects fat molecules from being oxidized by the free radicals that
continually attack fat cells. It supports the activity of the mitochondria that
burn oxygen to manufacture energy within cells. CoQ10 also dramatically boosts
the immune function. CoQ10 has been recommended at between 60-90 milligrams a
day. Some suggest 120-390 milligrams for those who wish to prevent signs of
aging.
Judy
Lindberg McFarland indicates that there seems to be virtually no side effects
to CoQ10. According to her, “It is one of the safest substances ever tested,
even in high dosages.” Take about 200 milligrams a day, but more if engaged in
any kind of stressful athletic activity. It takes about three months of use for
the beneficial effects of CoQ10 to begin to be demonstrated.
There is
some thought that CoQ10 may be beneficial in such dreaded diseases as Lou
Gehrig’s, and Judy McFarland says that in addition to its abilityto regenerate
aging tissues and to alleviate the effects of many aging-related processes and
age-associated diseases, CoQ10 is “effective in other areas such as periodontal
disease (gum disease), hypertension or high blood pressure, muscular dystrophy,
cancer, athletic performance, weight loss, anti-aging, and thyroid and thymus gland
function.”
4 books that will give a complete rundown on
sports nutrition, vitamins, and minerals for maximum health.
1.
Bill
Phillips of EAS, Sports Supplement Review-Sports
and Weight Lifting, Mile High Publishers, Box 277, Golden, Colorado 80402.
2.
Judy
Lindberg McFarland, Aging Without Growing
Old, Lindberg Nutrition, 3804 Sepulveda Blvd.,Torrance, CA 90505.
3.
Drs.
Klatz and Goldman, Stopping The Clock,
Keats Publishing, 27 Pine Street, New Canaan, CT 66840.
4.
Dr.
Russell Blaylock, Health and
Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life, Health Press, P.O. Box 1388,
Santa Fe, NM, 87504.
The information contained in this blog is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider before starting any new treatment or discontinuing an existing treatment. Talk with your healthcare provider about any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
