Any time is a great time to build your immune system, but such focus is especially helpful when there are extra viruses circulating at the job, grocery store, school, etc.

Here are a couple of tips we use:

1. Add lemon to your drinking water. If you are drinking the proper amount of water for your weight each day (weight x 50% = ounces per day), then you have plenty of opportunity to use lemon to build your immune system. Of course, do not just drop it into your water as they do at restaurants; squeeze the juice of a slice into each glass of water you drink.

2. Stimulate your immune system reflex points. You can follow this link to see a chart of reflex point that you can press on to stimulate your immune system. This site recommends using this technique 3 times a week. Our chiropractor has us do a different immune system stimulator, rubbing on the outside of the left knee, rubbing about 6 inches up the thigh towards the hip, for about 30 seconds.

3. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Experts used to recommend 5+ ½ cup servings a day; though most of us do not eat that much of fresh or lightly steamed vegetables and fruit daily, I found a link that will give you the amounts to eat based on your age, gender, and daily physical activity levels. Click here to find your amounts of daily fruits and vegetables.

4. Many people use daily supplements of Echinacea or goldenseal. Some people believe it is better to alternate between the two every two weeks. Personally, I mainly use them if I feel early symptoms of allergies or flu.

Below are a few more suggestions for building your immunity are from Dr. David J. Foreman, Herbal Pharmacist, who writes a monthly newsletter for the Vitamin Shoppe. His info is referenced at the end of the post (1):

5. Avoid Sugar. This includes other white flour foods like pasta, bread, cake, white potatoes. He says 7 teaspoons of sugar will decrease your immune function by 50% for up to 8 hours, so avoid refined foods.

6. Wash your hands. Use a hand sanitizer. Dr. Foreman prefers a grape seed extract as a hand sanitizer.

7. Use supplements. Dr. Foreman recommends a daily host defense supplement such as products like: Advanced Immune Support by MD Select, Immune Support Formula by Weil Nutritional Formulas, or Immuneactive by Futurebiotics.

1. The information above contains excerpts from his article on “Build Your Immunity Arsenal.” You can find more of Dr. Foreman’s articles at www.VitaminShoppe.com, click on Articles and More at the top, then on Advice from Experts/Herbal Pharmacist; you will then see the archives on the right.

Do you think your score card would compare to the national average or with what is necessary for a long, quality state of life?  Consumer Reports (1) recently put out an article based on the U.S. Government’s Healthy People 2010 initiative.  We’re going to look at some of these check points so you can see how you rate.  For our readers outside the U.S., you will still benefit from the health goals in these areas and the “how-to’s” of achieving good standards for a long healthy life.

Moderate Exercise

Average- 26 minutes per day for men, 19 per day for women.

Goal- 150 minutes moderate exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise for cardiovascular health, good cognitive function, lower body fat, and less age-related muscle loss.

Optimum- For more health benefits, increase to 300 minutes moderate exercise per week or 150 minutes vigorous exercise and strength training 2 days a week.

Body Weight

Average- Body mass index of 28 for men and women, waist circumference of 39.7 for men and 37 for women.

Goal- BMI of under 25 for men and women, waist circumference of 37 for men and 32 for women to lower rate of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and premature mortality.

How to Calculate- Your weight in pounds divided by your height in inches squared, then multiplied by 703. For ease, a BMI calculator is available at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org/BMI . For waist, measure circumference at belly button height.

Healthy Diet

Average- Less than 3 servings a day of fruit and vegetables for men and less than 4 for women. 

Goal- 2-4 servings per day of fruit and 3-5 servings per day of vegetables (5-9 total) to reduce risk of premature mortality, avoid excess weight, and provide disease-fighting nutrients.

How to Achieve- Work produce into your meals such as fruit into cereal, vegetables into omelets, shredded carrots or bean sprouts in sandwiches, fruit for dessert.

Blood Pressure

Average- 127 for systolic (upper number) and 77 for diastolic (lower number).

Goal- Systolic preferably under 120 but at least under 140 and preferably under 80 and at least under 90 as high blood pressure is the leading cause of heart attack, strokes, kidney disease, and cognitive decline.

How to Achieve- Lose excess weight, exercise regularly, cut back salt, eat lots of produce, consider medication if needed.

Cholesterol Levels

Average- 119 for LDL (bad type) and 53 for HDL (good type).

Goal- Under 100 for LDL and over 60 HDL to lower risk of heart attack and stroke.

How to Achieve- Lose excess weight, exercise regularly, moderate alcohol if at all, eat few foods with saturated fats and eliminate all trans fats (mainly in store-bought baked goods and fast foods), use medication if help is still needed.

Heart Rate

Average- 75 beats per minute (resting heart rate) for men and 77 for women.

Goal- Less then 60 beats per minute for men and less than 64 for women, as men and women with heart rates over 90 per minute are 2 and 3 times as likely to die of heart disease.

Alcohol

Non-Healthy Rate- 28% of adults drink amounts detrimental to their health, increasing blood pressure, risk of certain types of cancer, emotional and family problems, and premature death. 

Goal- No more than 2 drinks per day for a man and no more than 1 for a woman. Avoid any binge drinking (5 or more drinks). **Realize that 1 glass of beer or wine at a restaurant/bar contains far more alcohol than what researches consider 1 drink.

Driving

Average- Only 33% of drivers stay within speed limits, and only a 10% increase in speed causes a 43% rise in accident fatality.

Achieving Safety- Do not speed or tailgate (Leave 2 seconds between you and other car.), do not call or text while driving.  Phone calls while driving are as risky as driving drunk.

(1) These are excerpts from Consumer Reports’ On Health magazine, Vol.23, #1, January 2011, based on the U.S Government’s Healthy People 2010 Initiative.

Anti aging is a hot topic as more people realize that you do have the option not to succumb to all the typical ailments of aging and, especially, not to feel the affects of aging as early.

My grandfather decided to make major changes to his health when he turned the age of 39. I am not sure what all food related changes he made, but I know he stopped drinking alcohol, cut back to one cup of coffee a day, and began taking supplements and power walking a mile a day. He enjoyed incredibly good health throughout his senior years. He had a brief bout of severe arthritis in his early 70’s but through research on supplements and faithful prayer it soon disappeared completely. He still had none of the typical old age illnesses, rarely even a cold, when he passed away at the age of 89. On the other hand, I have known people who eat the typical American diet of almost no fruits, vegetables, or water and never exercise. They have already had diseases common to old age in their late 30’s, 40’s, or 50’s.

Many of the lifestyle changes to create a extended, healthier life are easy to make!

I wanted to include abbreviated lists from a couple of different organizations on anti aging. Each website has vast amounts of information to surf through, so please make use of their links to click through and read more ways to have a long, satisfying life.

These 8 tips are from Simply Anti Aging’s pages on health and nutrition. Many more tips on their site.

1. Laugh More. Recent research has shown that laughter really does help us in managing stress. Adopting a humorous view of life’s difficulties can take the edge off everyday stressful situations. Laughter stops the release of damaging stress hormones into the body. (A)

2. Improve Cardio Fitness with Dance. Combining cardio exercise fitness with dancing is a great way to keep fit over 40. (A)

3. Swim Your Way to Core Strength. You need to improve core strength through exercise as you get older to firm up abdominal flab, build flexibility, and prevent back problems. Swimming offers you both aerobic exercise — flooding your brain with oxygen and raising your pulse rate – and greatly improves core strength. (A)

4. Get Antioxidants by Eating Raw. Raw foods are one of the keys to a great anti aging diet. Its shown great benefits on some of the worst modern diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer. (B)

5. Eat Ketchup, Tomato paste, Tomato sauce. Tomatoes contain more lycopene than any other food and protects against many cancers including: digestive tract, colon, prostate, and lungs. (B)

6. Transfat Triples Your Risk of Heart Disease. Monunsaturated and polyunsaturated are the “good” fats. We also need to keep our saturated fat as low as possible. Trans fat is simply hydrogenated fat – a man made fat for longer shelf life. Even tiny amounts of hydrogenated fat clog up your arteries, putting you at much greater risk of heart disease or stroke. (B)

7. Juicing Delays Brain Aging. One of the worst aspects of aging for many people is the possibility of dementia, memory loss or even Alzheimer’s ruining the quality of life. Studies have focused on diet protecting our brain cells from oxidative stress. 2006 study on mice showed the group of senior mice given apple juice were fully protected from oxidative stress. Not only that but the “seniors” who consumed the human equivalent of 2-3 cups of apple juice – around 2-4 apples per day – had significantly higher levels of “mental acuity”. A 10 year study using 1,800 Seattle seniors (humans) showed those who drank fresh fruit or vegetable juice three or more times per week were 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those who only drank the juice once a week. (B)

8. Have You Inherited Your Stress Response? Children of stressed parents learn the tendency to get stressed out to life’s challenges…Since stress accelerates the aging process, so learn to manage stress more positively. (A)

The online organization, Anti Aging Guide 2009, has a graph showing which lifestyle changes add the most years to your life! Here’s a sampling. Use the link in the footnotes to see the full chart.

Note: If you make all the types of changes shown in their chart (not all listed here) and begin in your 20’s, you can add 60-80 years to your life. If you start at 45-50, you can still gain 30-40 years. (C)

1. Periodic fasting and calorie restriction can add 40-50 years.

2. Good nutrition can add 15-25 years.

3. Quality of life – prosperity, relaxation, regular vocations – can add 15-25 years.

4. Regular exercise can add 10-20 years. (C)

The organization, My Health Span, has a list of over 80 Lifestyle Anti Aging Factors, some of which are often unheard of. It is well worth using the link to read the whole list. Here are 13:

1. Calm, but alert temperament

2. Short commute to work

3. Walk 2 miles a day

4. Eat red meat once a week or less

5. Use sunscreen

6. Have a pet

7. Have a regular daily routine

8. Work no more than 40 hours a week

9. Take a yearly vacation of at least 6 days

10. Set new goals and look for new challenges

11. Expect good things to happen

12. Not constantly critical of yourself or others

13. Avoid regretting sacrifices made in life (D)

(A) Find many more great tips at Simply Anti Aging’s Health page
(B) Find many more great tips at Simply Anti Aging’s Nutrition page
(C) Online Anti Aging Guide 2009 graph of Proven Methods for Life Extension Full List
(D) My Health Span’s list of over 80 Lifestyle Anti Aging Factors

You can significantly improve your overall health and nutrition for only a few dollars a day by incorporating super foods into your diet.

Superfoods (or super foods) are foods that are so rich in nutrients that they can treat or prevent disease. One can incorporate the natural forms into your daily meal plans or obtain the benefits of a wide variety that would be virtually impossible to eat by using one of the many new superfood supplements available. The following data and suggestions are excerpts from an article by Dr. David J.Foreman, Herbal Pharmacist, author of the monthly newsletter for the Vitamin Shoppe chain of stores. See the footnote below for a link to the complete article.(1)

According to Dr. Foreman’s research, most experts are now recommending 9 servings per day of fruits and vegetables.(1)

Few of us ever achieve that level on a daily basis. In addition, there are certain “superfoods” which have vastly higher amounts of beneficial phytonutrients and phytochemicals than the average fruit or vegetables one typcially eats. You should try to incorporate natural forms of these foods into your diet as much as possible, but also seriously consider a superfood supplement, as some superfoods are either not easy to fix or not tasty to the average person.

You can enjoy common health benefits from superfoods such as:

-Increased Energy
-Balancing of Your pH
-Strengthening Your Immune System
-Detoxifying Your Body
-Good Source of Fiber
-Nutrients More Easily Digested and Absorbed

Dr. Foreman personally saw major changes in his overall health after using a superfood supplement, including increased energy, better sleep, more effective digestion, clearer skin, and improved vision.

Here are some ways superfoods treat or prevent disease:

-Reduce Certain Cancer Risks
-Reduce Inflammation
-Increase Body’s Effectiveness to Fight Disease
-Improve Heart Health
-Help Maintain Better Weight

Here is list of typical superfoods:

Super Fruits include: blueberries, cranberries, red grapes, mangos, mangosteen, papaya, tomatoes, apples, noni, bananas

Super Veggies include: alfalfa sprouts, spinach, blue green algae, chorella, quinoa, soy, grasses

Superfoods other than Fruits/Veggies: yogurt, bee pollen, turkey

The following Superfood Supplements are combination products with an enormous variety of whole foods in them. These products are some of the great superfood options available on the market to add to your daily intake:

Greens – Greens Plus, Bio Greens, Perfect Food, Green Vibrance, Wheatgrass

Berry/Fruit Extracts – Fruits of Life Antioxidants, Red Lightning, Fruit Complex, Red Stuff (by Gary Null)

Fruit/Veggie Combos (best overall) – Berry Green, Perfect Food Berry, Greens Plus with Wild Berry, ORAC Energy Greens (Dr. Foreman’s personal favorite)

Here are some common sense suggestions from Dr. Foreman for getting started with super foods.

1. Ask a store associate about samples of the products you are interested and try those first. Then you do not waste money on buying something that you do not enjoy taking.

2. Mix the superfood supplement with a superfood juice such as acai, mangosteen, pomegranate, or maqui instead of filtered water.

3. Take the supplement mixed with superfood juice along with your breakfast or lunch.

4. If you are unsure about the possible benefits of adding a superfood supplement to your daily intake, buy enough of a product to last at least 30 days. Dr. Foreman is convinced that 30 days gives you enough time to see significant initial changes in your health.

1. You can find more of Dr. Foreman’s articles at www.VitaminShoppe.com, click on Health Info, then on Herbal Pharmacist.

Build your immunity with these easy-to-implement helps.

Any time is a great time to build your immune system, but such focus is especially helpful when there are extra viruses circulating at the job and at school.

Here are a couple of tips we use:

1. Add lemon to your drinking water. If you are drinking the proper amount of water for your weight each day (weight x 50% = ounces per day), then you have plenty of opportunity to use lemon to build your immune system. Of course, do not just drop it into your water as they do at restaurants; squeeze the juice of a slice into each glass of water you drink.

2. Stimulate your immune system reflex points. You can follow this link to see a chart of reflex point that you can press on to stimulate your immune system. This site recommends using this technique 3 times a week. Our chiropractor has us do a different immune system stimulator, rubbing on the outside of the left knee, rubbing about 6 inches up the thigh towards the hip, for about 30 seconds.

3. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Experts used to recommend 5+ ½ cup servings a day; though most of us do not eat that much of fresh or lightly steamed vegetables and fruit daily, I found a link that will give you the amounts to eat based on your age, gender, and daily physical activity levels. Click here to find your amounts of daily fruits and vegetables.

4. Many people use daily supplements of Echinacea or goldenseal. Some people believe it is better to alternate between the two every two weeks. Personally, I mainly use them if I feel early symptoms of allergies or flu.

These suggestions for building your immunity are from Dr. David J. Foreman, Herbal Pharmacist, who writes a monthly newsletter for the Vitamin Shoppe. His info is referenced at the end of the post (1):

5. Avoid Sugar. This includes other white flour foods like pasta, bread, cake, white potatoes. He says 7 teaspoons of sugar will decrease your immune function by 50% for up to 8 hours, so avoid refined foods.

6. Wash your hands. Use a hand sanitizer. Dr. Foreman prefers a grape seed extract as a hand sanitizer.

7. Use supplements. Dr. Foreman recommends a daily host defense supplement such as products like: Advanced Immune Support by MD Select, Immune Support Formula by Weil Nutritional Formulas, or Immuneactive by Futurebiotics.

1. The information above contains excerpts from his article on “Build Your Immunity Arsenal.” You can find more of Dr. Foreman’s articles at www.VitaminShoppe.com, click on Articles and More at the top, then on Advice from Experts/Herbal Pharmacist; you will then see the archives on the right.

For anyone who is wanting to increase his nutrition intake and improve his health, raw food needs to be a major focus.

It is surprising the times one can walk into a health store and see the shelves stocked with a majority of what is marketed as health food. A quick look at the label shows overly processed foods, chemical additives, binders, fillers, and numerous other items or processes that make the food anything but healthy. If you truly want to increase your nutrition intake, improve your health and boost the quality of your life, seriously consider raw foods.

I recently read an article about Paul Nison, author of Raw Food Formula for Health. He is a former Wall Street Trader whose poor health caused him to relocate, change careers, and focus on improving his health. After working on his health with the Hippocrates Health Institute’s plan of an 80% raw food diet, Paul’s health was transformed, convincing him of the benefit of eating raw, unprocessed, and uncooked foods. The health benefits of a raw food diet were so compelling that Paul switched to a career as a raw food chef and author/lecturer about the benefits of raw food.

Why does cooked food put a strain on the body and its digestive system?

As Paul explains in his book, essential enzymes are destroyed in cooked food. A diet of mainly cooked food strains the body by causing it to work at producing enzymes that ought to be in one’s food intake. While a person who eats raw and fermented foods high in enzymes jump starts that body’s digestive process by reducing the body’s need to produce enzymes, a person who mainly eats cooked foods use up his enzyme potential by forcing an outpouring of secretions from the body’s digestive organs. When the body is consistently forced to produce the majority of its digestive enzymes, the result is a life of poor health.

Try following this simple Raw Food Menu plan for 3 days.

Paul Nison has a 7 day Menu posted online on Jordan Rubin’s website. They suggest trying 3 days on the raw food menu to see how much better you will feel. It does not matter the order in which the menu is used (You can swap days.). Paul does recommend to drink your water an hour before your meal instead of with it and finish your last meal by 7 pm.

Click here for the link to the full Raw Food Menu.

Here is a sample of Day 1 from Paul Nison’s Raw Food Menu:

Breakfast: Juice of 1 cup spinach, 1 cucumber, and 2 stalks celery.
Morning Snack: Green apples or berries and a salad, if desired.
Noon: Juice of 1 cup kale, 1 cucumber, 1 green apple, and 2 cabbage leaves.
Afternoon Snack: Juice of 1 cup spinach, 3 stalks of celery, and 3 carrots.
Dinner: Paul’s Powerful Salad: fresh spinach leaves (as much as you like), 1 ripe avocado, half of a medium-sized cucumber (chopped), half of a red bell pepper (chopped), half a stalk of celery (chopped), and 1-2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds. Combine ingredients and sprinkle with juice of one lemon and the flaxseeds. Yield: 1 serving.

Article Referenced: Take the 3 Day Raw Food Challenge, pp. 22-23, Extraordinary Health, Vol. 5