By Carol Chuang, MS, CNS, CHC, CMTA
Conventional nutrition advice says eating fat will make you fat. In order to prevent weight gain and stay healthy, you should eat a low-fat diet. This school of thought is fully embraced by many nutritionists, dietitians, personal trainers, doctors, and even our government agencies.
The truth is that there is no evidence that healthy fats are bad for you, as a matter of fact, they are essential for your body functions. Eating foods high in healthy fats doesn't mean that you will get fat.
Weight gain/loss is not just about the calories because all calories are not created equal. Well, in terms of the energy in the calories, yes. But in terms of the fate of the nutrient (protein, fat, or carbs) downstream, the same amount of calories of different nutrients produces dramatically different effects.
It wasn't until the last 30-40 years that Americans have become so fat phobic and eaten so much low-fat and fat-free foods, yet Americans are getting fatter and heavier. Why? What does research say about the mechanism behind weight gain? What can we do to lose the fat?
Changes In The American Diet
In the last few decades, the American diet has gone through dramatic changes. Americans now eat less home-cooked meals but more processed foods, fast foods, and restaurant meals. The American diet consists of considerably greater amounts of grains and sugars, in particular, those derived from corn.
If you look at what Americans have been eating, these statistics are hardly a surprise. We are eating increasingly bigger bagels, muffins, doughnuts, scones, ice cream cones, pretzels, cookies, pizzas, wraps, and slices of bread. Restaurants appear to give better value for your money by serving humongous portions of pasta and rice, and unlimited quantities of bread, just because flour and rice are cheap. (Corn, cotton, wheat, rice, and soybeans are the five most heavily subsidized crops in the U.S.)
We are eating more sugar because food manufacturers have turned to sugar as the number one food additive. With the advent of low-fat and fat-free foods, manufacturers started adding sugar to compensate for the lack of flavor from the fat. These days, you may find sugar in the most unlikely places, such as peanut butter, mayonnaise, salad dressings, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, soup, boxed mixed rice, hot dogs, luncheon meats, canned vegetables, bread, pizza, and crackers.
We are also consuming more sugar and high fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages, including soft drinks, fruit-flavored drinks, and enhanced waters. These days children don't even like to drink water because it has no flavor.
Consequently, such dramatic transformations in our diet are being reflected in changes in our physique.
Excess Carbs Lead To Weight Gain
We all know that eating too much sugar is bad for our health; it leads to weight gain, obesity, and diabetes. But what about grains, especially whole grains, the so-called "good" carbs which are supposed to be wholesome and fat-free?
The truth is that grains, no matter whether they are refined or whole, are carbohydrates that eventually break down to simple sugars like glucose. Eating foods high in sugar, including starchy foods and grains results in a rise in blood glucose. The pancreas responses by secreting the hormone insulin, signaling cells in the liver, muscles, and fat tissues to take up excess glucose from the blood. Then, insulin tells the body to store fat and stop using it as an energy source.
Hence, if you are always eating sugar and a lot of grains, your body is constantly producing insulin to counteract the rise in blood sugar from the carbs. As a result, you are also changing the way the body regulates fat storage. Overtime, you will accumulate more fat and gain weight.
Weight Gain Is More Than Just Calories
Research finds that if you eat the same amount of calories from carbs, or carbs and protein, or carbs and fat, or protein and fat, you are going to have entirely different metabolic fates. And that metabolic fate is going to determine the hormonal response that regulates, among other things, how much fat you accumulate.
Protein and fat have minimal effect on the hormone insulin. In fact, eating healthy fats as part of your meal is conducive to weight loss as the fats slow down your food absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry.
Carbs, on the other hand, triggers the secretion of insulin, which tells your body to store fat and stop using it as an energy source. Thus, you can say that eating too much carbs will eventually make you fat.
Confusion About Fructose And The Glycemic Index
The glycemic index ranks carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood sugar levels. It uses a scale of 0 to 100, with higher values given to carbs that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. As a reference point, pure glucose is 100 on the scale; refined white sugar (half glucose-half fructose) is 65.
Fructose doesn't trigger a rapid rise in blood sugar and has the lowest glycemic index (19) of all natural sugars. This leads to its skyrocketed popularity in the last 30 years.
There has been much debate about whether fructose contributes to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. After years of research, studies found that excessive fructose is far worse than glucose and other kinds of carbs! The reason is that fructose has its unique metabolic pathway.
Therefore, if you have any of the following conditions, you should significantly reduce your intake of grain carbs and sugar, in particular, fructose:
Tips For Losing Fat
© 2012 Carol Chuang
By Carol Chuang, MS, CNS, CMTA, CHC
The human brain is an extremely complex organ. Despite rapid scientific progress, the knowledge about how the brain works in still evolving.
The brain contains about 100 billion neurons, which are highly specialized nerve cells responsible for communicating information throughout the body. For each neuron, there are roughly anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 synapses. A synapse is the connection between neurons that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron. Hormones and neurotransmitters are examples of chemical signals.
The old adage of humans only using 10% of our brain is not true. Every part of the brain has a known function. Humans continue to make new neurons throughout life in response to mental activity. When you learn something new, your brain undergoes physical changes. The brain keeps growing in the frontal and temporal lobes well into middle-age, which can be associated with better emotional development and wisdom.
The brain is, in fact, very much like a muscle which can be "bulked up" through exercise. Hence, it is possible to stimulate and challenge your brain as you get older to promote its continued growth. This means that the opposite also holds true - drug use, poor nutrition, or other assaults on your brain can interfere with its development and health. This may be the explanation why Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia cases are skyrocketing in the U.S. and many developed countries.
So even if you haven't been leading the healthiest lifestyle thus far, making some positive changes now may still provide your brain what it needs to stay healthy as you age. The following are tips on how to keep your brain young and healthy.
Control Your Blood Glucose Levels
Latest studies show that people with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's compared with people who are non-diabetic. There is increasing evidence that even pre-diabetics are already at increased risk of cognitive decline.
Diabetes is normally associated with insulin resistance, a condition by which the cells in the body have become unresponsive to insulin. Recently, researchers have discovered a new type of insulin resistance called brain insulin resistance.
In this case, the brain is unable to access the insulin in the blood. As a result, brain cells are unable to utilize glucose which is its main source of fuel, causing them to degenerate and die. As neurons in the brain are lost, the brain shrinks, and memory and cognitive skills decline. Scientists are now labeling this new type of brain insulin resistance type 3 diabetes.
Lifestyle choices are a major contributing factor to insulin resistance. Being overweight, consuming excess foods loaded with carbohydrates (sugar, fruits, grains, legumes, starchy vegetables), and being sedentary are all known factors leading to insulin resistance.
Lose Your Spare Tire
There is a connection between abdominal fat and your brain. The deeper layer of visceral fat cells around your waist is like an active organ producing hormones that can cause higher insulin levels.
The brain has a lot of insulin receptors and they are concentrated in the hippocampus, which plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Scientists found that the enzyme that breaks down insulin also breaks down beta-amyloid, the sticky protein that mucks up the brains in people with Alzheimer's.
However, this enzyme prefers to break down insulin. So if you have excess insulin, the enzyme will work on the insulin rather than the beta-amyloid, resulting in its accumulation. For this reason, in Alzheimer's patients, the hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain to suffer damage. Memory problems and disorientation often appear among the first symptoms.
Exercise
Research finds that with dementia, there is a shrinkage of the dendrites (branched projections of a neuron) that connect the neurons. There is also less production of neurotransmitters and the hippocampus gets smaller.
Numerous studies found that aerobic exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections, and protecting them from damage. For older people, aerobic exercise is very effective in boosting executive skills that includes planning, scheduling, multi-tasking, dealing with ambiguity and working memory (the ability to store short-term memory and process the information). So, if you want to boost your brain size, go for a brisk walk every day.
Eat A Clean, Healthy Diet
Like the rest of your body, your brain depends on clean, healthy foods to function. While protein is the main source of fuel for your brain, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals from fresh vegetables are just as important, as is limiting sugar intake.
Nutrients that benefit your brain:
Avoid these neurotoxins in your diet:
Get Sufficient Vitamin D
Researchers have uncovered strong links between low levels of vitamin D and increased risk of cognitive impairment. In addition, there is ample evidence that suggests vitamin D is neuroprotective by reducing inflammation and promoting healthy brain development and function.
Since most people, especially the elderly, don't get much sun exposure or are always wearing sunscreen, it is vital to take a vitamin D3 supplement. Dosage will vary from person to person but it is generally safe to take up to 10,000 IU per day. The only way to know is to get a blood test for your 25(OH)D level. The optimal range is between 50-70 ng/mL.
Protect Your Brain From Cell Phones
The World Health Organization has recently announced that radiation from cell phones is a possible carcinogen to the brain. The agency found evidence of increased glioma (brain tumor) and acoustic neuroma (tumor on your auditory nerve) for mobile phone users. It now lists mobile phone in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust, and chloroform.
Challenge Your Mind
The brain is like a muscle. If you challenge it, it will get stronger. Mind-training activities stimulate blood flow, strengthen the synapses between neurons, and keep your brain fit as you age.
Limit TV
Last but not least, when you watch TV, your brain goes into neutral. People watching TV have increased alpha brain waves, meaning their brains are in a passive state as if they are just sitting in the dark. It is no wonder that too much TV watching has been linked to low achievement.
© 2011 Carol Chuang
Increasing evidence is piling up that not saturated fats but sugar, is the main culprit behind the skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and even cancer. Yet, we still hear from mainstream media and the medical profession that saturated fats are harmful but sugar is "OK" in moderation.
This is all misguided information. We now know for a fact that eating saturated fats do not lead to an increased risk of heart disease. Recently released studies have proven that.
However, can sugar be possibly that bad? Is sugar really toxic to the human body and causes all those diseases? Let's look at the statistics:
There is no accident that childhood obesity is at a record high - at least 15% of U.S. school children are obese - and life expectancy for the youngest generation is, for the first time, lower than that of their parents.
Sugar is the cause of many evils. Learn why sugar is extremely addictive, makes you more hungry, promotes fat accumulation in the liver and arteries, cause you to gain weight, and lead to many degenerative diseases.
Sugar Is Highly Addictive!
Many people have a "sweet tooth" or an addiction to sweets. Research finds that sugar may be even more addictive than cocaine, which is one of the most addictive substances currently known.
In a study when rats were allowed to choose either sweetened water or cocaine, an astonishing 94% of rats chose the sweetened water. Even rats that were addicted to cocaine quickly switched their preference to sugar once it was offered as a choice.
Sugar triggers production of your brain's natural opioids, which is a key to the addiction process. Your brain becomes addicted to its own opioids as it would to cocaine, heroine, or morphine.
Strong sweet cravings are usually the result of a complex hormonal reaction. Every time you eat, the body produces a satiety hormone called leptin which suppresses appetite, increases fat burning, and reduces fat storage.
However, research discovers that people who have diminished feelings of satiety and continue to eat sweet foods tend to have leptin resistance. Leptin is produced by the fat tissue, and the amount circulating in the body is directly proportional to the amount of fat you have. When your body is aways exposed to too much leptin, yours cells eventually become desensitized. Leptin resistance is, therefore, quite common with people who are overweight or obese.
What Really Happens When You Eat Sugar
We all know that sugar is empty calories and has little nutritional value, but the problems of sugar go far beyond the calories. Sugar comes in many different forms but the most common type is refined table sugar, which is made of 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Glucose and fructose are processed differently by the body.
When you take in glucose, it is rapidly absorbed into your bloodstream and your pancreas responds by secreting the hormone insulin to bring the blood glucose back to a normal range. If you are always taking in a lot of glucose, over time your cells become desensitized to the circulating insulin and you develop insulin resistance and eventually diabetes, meaning your blood sugar level stays abnormally high all the time.
Fructose, unlike glucose, does not trigger the rapid rise in blood glucose. However, the entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver. Fructose is turned into fat (VLDL and triglycerides) that is deposited in your liver, arteries, and throughout your body. As mentioned above, people who are overweight or obese also tend to have leptin resistance that diminishes their feelings of satiety and make them overeat and store even more fat.
Therefore, excess consumption of glucose and fructose have detrimental effects on your health. It leads to:
Food Sources Of Fructose And Glucose
Sugar's Connection To Cancer
Cancer researchers found that you are more likely to get cancer if you are obese, diabetic, or insulin resistant. The connection is sugar.
When you eat sugar, your blood sugar rises and the pancreas secrets insulin to mop up the excess sugar in the blood. With the insulin, your body also secretes a related hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) which promotes tumor growth and inhibits cell death. In fact, many pre-cancerous cells would never acquire the mutations that transform them into malignant tumors if they were not being driven by insulin to take up more and more blood sugar and metabolize it. Insulin promotes many of the most common cancers, especially the hormone-dependent cancers, like breast, colon, and prostate.
There is more than enough evidence that sugar causes havoc to your health. So stay away from sugar and high fructose sweeteners such as agave nectar, refined grains, baked goods, candies, and sugary beverages.
How To Kick Your Sugar Addiction
First of all, to break the addiction, you need to stop eating sugar. Studies find that people who eliminate sugar (including artificial sweeteners), limit their intake of carbohydrates (including fruits and whole grains), and eat a diet higher in protein and fats have substantially reduced sweet cravings.
The finding makes sense because when you eat lots of sugar, the sugar gets metabolized to fat and is stored as fat in your cells, which in turn releases surges in leptin. Over time, if your body is always exposed to too much leptin, you will become leptin resistant (just as your body can become insulin resistant).
When you are leptin resistant, you can no longer hear the messages to stop eating and burn fat. You feel hungry, you crave sweets, and your body stores more fat. To stop this viscous cycle, you need to avoid high glycemic foods that rapidly raise your blood sugar and increase protein and fats (which are low glycemic) in your diet.
Secondly, if you are an emotional eater, you need to consciously find healthier ways to cope with your stress. Research suggests about half of the Americans turn to food in times of boredom, stress, and loneliness. People who feel a lack of emotional support in their lives tend to use food as a coping mechanism. If you have a hard time resolving this yourself, look for professional help.
Thirdly, cardiovascular exercise decreases sweet cravings. By and large, when your insulin levels are elevated, you tend to have sweet cravings. However, after a good workout, there is a dramatic reduction in insulin levels and as a result, cravings often simply disappear. In addition, doing interval training (short bursts followed by recovery) 3-4 times a week has been proven to be very successful in improving insulin sensitivity. If you are not used to exercising, consult a professional before engaging in vigorous exercises.
Finally, sweet cravings are a sign of imbalance in the body. If you have tried all of the above and are still struggling with a sugar addiction, seek help from a health care practitioner who is knowledgeable in addressing conditions like adrenal fatigue, yeast or Candida overgrowth, systemic viral, bacteria, or fungal infection, and hormonal imbalances as these may be the underlying causes of your problem.
In June 2011 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) replaced the "Food Pyramid" with a "Food Plate" urging Americans to eat a more plant-based diet of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and lean protein, together with fat-free or 1% milk.
At a cursory glance, this Food Plate is already leaps and bounds ahead of both the 1992 and 2005 Food Pyramids. It is not a pyramid but a food plate, which is much easier to visualize at the dinner table. The Food Plate no longer emphasizes that grains should make up the majority of your diet and it increases the recommended amounts of fruits and veggies to half of your plate.
However, the Food Plate is still far from an ideal meal plan that supports optimal health. If you are trying to follow the guidelines of the Food Plate, you should be aware of its shortcomings mentioned below.
The Missing Fats
The entire fats group is practically non-existent on this new Food Plate which endorses a diet low in fats. Apart from a small amount in the lean protein and low-fat dairy, there is no recommendation of any additional fats.
For one, fat is essential for many body functions. Human beings cannot survive without fats in the diet, especially the essential fatty acids such as omega 3 and 6, which cannot be produced by the body and have to be obtained from the food. Dietary fats:
The Food Plate fails to mention any of the following healthy fats or warn against the consumption of the unhealthy ones.
Healthy fats
Unhealthy fats
Low-Fat Dairy Not Your Healthiest Choice
Unfortunately, based on the misguided information that saturated fat is bad for you, the new Food Plate recommends Americans to consume low-fat and non-fat dairy. Numerous studies have now proven that the fats in organic dairy, in particular, the raw version, are in reality beneficial to you.
Research shows that full-fat dairy may help reduce your risk of many diseases:
Best type of dairy
The healthiest is raw, organic, full-fat dairy from grass-fed animals. Raw dairy does not go through pasteurization or homogenization.
Pasteurization is a process of heating the milk to a high temperature for a short period of time and then cooling it immediately. This process destroys enzymes, vitamins B6, B12, and C, kills beneficial bacteria, and denatures fragile milk proteins.
Homogenization is a process that breaks down the butterfat globules by forcing the milk through a series of screens at high pressure so that they become the same size particles as the rest of the milk. The resulting fat particles become so small they stay in suspension rather than rise to the top of the milk.
Some studies showed that homogenization makes the fat more susceptible to rancidity and oxidation and that homogenized fats may be one of the contributing factors to heart disease.
Your next best choice is dairy from organic, pasteurized but non-homogenized milk.
Too Much Fruits
The new Food Plate suggests making half the plate fruits and vegetables. Emphasizing on more vegetables is indeed a step in the right direction, however, making fruits almost the same amount as vegetables is probably too much for a lot of people.
It is true that fruits are a good source of vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber, but fruits are also high in fruit sugar, or fructose. Fructose is metabolized differently from glucose. (Sugar is 50% glucose, 50% fructose.)
The entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver, whereas with glucose, your liver breaks down only 20%. Besides, every cell in your body uses glucose, so unless you consume in excess, it gets burned up by the body.
Fructose, on the other hand, is turned into fat (VLDL and triglycerides) and deposited throughout your body. Over consumption of fructose has far reaching effects on your health. It leads to:
Knowing this, it is not wise to over consume fruits, in particular fruit juice. For those who are already insulin resistant, you should avoid fruits all together but instead eat plenty of above ground vegetables. You will get the same vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber without the negative effects of fructose.
How do you know if you are insulin resistant? You can get a blood test for your fasting insulin level and see if it is over 5 uIU/ml. If you are overweight, have diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, it is a reasonable bet that you may have insulin resistance.
Eat More CLEAN Veggies
A smart choice for your health is to substantially increase your vegetable consumption (except corn and potatoes). Yet, bear in mind that many vegetables are loaded with pesticides which are carcinogenic and damaging to your immune, endocrine and nervous systems.
For the following veggies, you should definitely buy organic as they retain high levels of pesticides:
Less Grains
The new Food Plate recommends grain consumption to be about 30% of your diet and suggests making at least half your grains whole grains. This is a huge improvement over the previous Food Pyramids which recommended grains to be the majority of your diet. However, since two-thirds of the Americans are either overweight or obese, eating this much grain is the last thing you want to do to lose weight.
Many people are still being misled that the so-called "good" carbs like whole grains or fruits won't make you fat. The truth is: whether it is whole grain, sprouted grain, or refined grain, all grains break down to sugar. Over consumption of any grains or fruits will lead to insulin resistance and weight gain.
Bottom Line
© Carol Chuang 2011
For the last 60 years, conventional medicine has been recommending non-fat or low-fat dairy products as it is believed that saturated fat led to heart disease.
However, this is old and misguided information. New studies show that there is NO significant evidence that saturated fat in the diet is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. (See below for the latest research.)
Moreover, if you have been eating non-fat or low-fat dairy products, you are missing out on the many health benefits that come with full-fat dairy.
New Light Shed On Saturated Fat
In early 2010, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition released the result of 21 studies that analyzed nearly 348,000 healthy participants during a period of 5-23 years. The investigation found no difference in the risk of heart disease between individuals with the lowest and highest intakes of saturated fat.
What's interesting is that in the last few decades, while doctors and nutritionists are recommending non-fat and low-fat foods, people have swapped their fat calories for additional sweeteners, especially high-fructose corn syrup, and refined carbohydrates. The reason is food manufacturers often add more sugar to non-fat and low-fat foods to compensate for the loss of taste from the fat. Most people also end up eating more when they eat non-fat and low-fat foods.
In a study released in April 2010 (by Emory University and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention), it showed that sweeteners appear to lower levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol and raise triglycerides (fat in blood), both of these effects increase the risk of heart disease.
What's more, sugars and refined carbohydrates, through their direct effects on insulin and blood sugar, are probably the main dietary cause of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Science Shows Full-fat Dairy Has Many Health Benefits
The difference between full-fat, low-fat, and non-fat dairy is obviously the fat. So why is this fat good for us? Let's look at what's in the fat.
About 50-60 percent of the fat found in dairy foods issaturated fat. The rest includes oleic acid and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
For thousands of years, human beings have been eating saturated fat from animals. Saturated fat has many health advantages:
Oleic acid, or omega-9 fatty acid, is what makes olive oil so healthy:
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is found in ruminants (animals with four-part stomach and cud-chewing behavior) such as cattle, bison, goats, and sheep. The meat and milk from grass-fed ruminants are much richer in CLA than the meat and milk from corn- and grain-fed animals. CLA has amazing benefits for your body:
Hence, if you only eat low-fat or non-fat dairy products, you have missed out on the many health advantages that full-fat dairy gives you.
Many people believe that eating fat will make you fat. For the majority of the population, this is absolutely not the case. Most people actually need moderate to high amounts of healthy fats in their diet, though there is a minority of people whose body requires a low-fat diet. If you are interested in knowing your body type and what type of diet is right for you, please contact me for an online Metabolic Typing test.
In most cases, the real culprit to fat gain is carbohydrates (in particular, sugar and refined carbs), because if we eat more than the body needs, the excess carbohydrates is mostly stored as visceral fat beneath the wall of the abdominal muscles. Visceral fat was recently discovered to be a significant producer of hormones that are involved in diseases such as obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.
Raw Milk Vs. Pasteurized And Homogenized Milk
There are huge differences between pasteurized, homogenized, and raw milk. Let's look at what each entails.
Pasteurization is a process of heating the milk to a high temperature (161˚F or 72˚C) for a short period of time (15-20 seconds) and then cooling it immediately. Pasteurized milk typically has a refrigerated shelf life of 2-3 weeks.
Ultra pasteurization is a process of heating the milk to 275˚F (or 135˚C)for at least a second. This ultra heat treatment further extends the shelf life of the milk, sometimes to 2-3 months. Aseptic-packaged milk can even be stored unrefrigerated for 6-9 months.
Inspection of dairy herds for disease is often not required for pasteurized milk, therefore, pasteurization is necessary to kill harmful bacteria that may result from sick cows. However, this process significantly impairs the biological value of the milk. Pasteurization:
Raw milk, on the other hand, is milk that has not gone through pasteurization or homogenization and is in its most natural form. If the milk is from organically raised, grass-fed cows and is handled hygenically, there is little problem with disease and does not need pasteurization.
Raw milk contains many health-promoting ingredients that pasteurized and homogenized milk lacks:
Watch Out For These Dairy Products
Most consumers are not aware that certain dairy products may contain many additives to make them look and taste better.
@ 2011 Carol Chuang
Importance Of Water In The Body
Water makes up about 55-60% of the body weight of an average human being. The lungs are nearly 90% water, blood is 83% water, brain and lean muscles are 75% water, bone is 22% water, and body fat is 10% water.
Therefore, a person can survive for up to 4 weeks without food but no longer than 3 days without water. Water performs many vital functions in the body, it:
Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine, and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish your water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.
How Much Water Do You Need Every Day?
A general rule of thumb is to take your body weight in pounds divided by 2 and you get the number of ounces required per day. For instance, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces of fluid or slightly over nine 8-oz glasses.
Clean, filtered water is your best choice of fluid and it has 0 calories!
Other beverages that count as your daily fluid intake include regular and decaffeinated tea and coffee, broth, fruit and vegetable juices, milk, energy drinks, sweetened beverages and artificially-sweetened diet drinks. However, watch out for the amount of caffeine, sugar, artificial chemicals, and sodium that may be present in these beverages as over consumption of these ingredients may lead to long-term health problems.
Harmful Effects Of Dehydration
Common causes of dehydration include intense diarrhea, vomiting, fever, or excessive sweating. Exercise and not drinking enough water during hot weather may also cause dehydration.
Dehydration may lead to fatigue, migraines, constipation, muscle cramps, irregular blood pressure, kidney problems, and dry skin. There is even a risk of death if you become severely dehydrated.
Make sure you catch the early symptoms of dehydration:
Thirst. If you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Don't forget to hydrate throughout the day, especially during hot weather or when you exercise or drink alcohol. For every alcoholic drink, it is prudent to replenish with a glass of water.
Hunger. Most people mistake hunger as the indication to eat, whereas actually, you may be dehydrated. When you feel hungry, drink a glass of water and wait 15 minutes to see if the hunger pangs disappear.
Dark yellow/orange urine. Urine is usually pale yellow to clear when you have sufficient water intake. Dark color or strong smell indicates you need to drink more water.
Dysfunctional "Enhanced" Waters
Pure, clean water is tasteless. However, many children and adults, spoiled by years of drinking sweetened beverages, are reluctant to drink the perfectly healthy water.
As a result, the food and beverage industry has created many "enhanced" waters sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners and fortified with everything from vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, to electrolytes, oxygen, and even fiber in every imaginable color and flavor to entice you to drink them!
But if you take a closer look at the ingredients of these "enhanced" waters, you will discover that most contain many unsavory ingredients that may wreck havoc on your metabolism, hormones, and other body functions.
The following are examples of some dysfunctional waters and their unsavory ingredients. They are all sweetened with sugar or some other artificial sweeteners.
Aquafina (Berry Burst) - contains potassium benzoate (preservative), aspartame (artificial sweetener), acesulfame potassium (artificial sweetener), calcium disodium EDTA (additive)
Bot (Berry) - contains pure cane sugar (9g/container)
Dasani Plus (Pomegranate Blackberry) - contains maltodextrin (presence of gluten), potassium sorbate (preservative), potassium benzoate and EDTA, acesulfame potassium, sucralose (artificial sweetener)
Fruit20 essentials (Cranberry Raspberry) - contains maltodextrin, sucralose, sodium hexametaphosphate (additive), sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate
MiO (Berry Pomegranate) - contains propylene glycol (solvent), sucralose, acesulfame potassium, polysorbate 60 (emulsifier), red 40 (dye), blue 1 (dye), potassium sorbate
Propel Fitness Water (Kiwi-Strawberry) - contains sucrose syrup (4g/container), sucralose, calcium disodium EDTA, acesulfame potassium
Snapple Antioxidant Water (Strawberry Acai) - contains sugar (33g/container) and caffeine (60mg)
SoBe LifeWater - various flavors sweetened with sugar (24g/container)
VitaminWater (Tropical Citrus) - contains crystalline fructose (sugar 33g/container)
Voosh (Acai Blueberry Pomegranate) - contains crystalline fructose (sugar 33g/container)
On the other hand, there are two relatively healthier flavored waters with minimal junk ingredients:
Glaceau Smart Water - vapor distilled water and electrolytes
MetroMint - purified water and mint
Why Carbonated Waters Are Not Good For You
The normal pH (acid-alkaline) range in the stomach is between 1.5 to 3.5, meaning it is highly acidic. This acidity creates an ideal environment for digestive enzymes to break down food.
When you drink water with added carbonation, it neutralizes the stomach acid momentarily. Carbon dioxide combines with water to form carbonic acid, which rapidly dissociates to form hydrogen ion and bicarbonate. The bicarbonate, being alkaline, increases the pH in the stomach, making it less acidic.
Therefore, regular use of carbonated water will not only disrupt your buffering system which regulates the pH in the stomach, but also exhaust your stomach's parietal cells in producing stomach acid. This can eventually lead to digestive problems and the growth of harmful bacteria (which prefers a more alkaline environment) in the stomach.
This also applies to other carbonated drinks such as sodas. What's worse is that sodas contain phosphoric acid, which causes your body to leach calcium and contributes to osteoporosis.
Do Not Drink Alkaline Water
For the same reason mentioned above, alkaline or ionized water is not recommended for regular use. Contrary to some claims, alkaline water is not a healthy drink, in particular if the pH of the water is strongly alkaline. Long-term use of this type of water will interfere with the stomach's buffering system.
Tap, Filtered, Reverse Osmosis, Distilled, Or Bottled Water?
Tap water is not ideal for drinking. Depending on where you live, tap water may contain parasites, chlorine, fluoride, dioxins and other contaminants. If you have old pipes in the house, it may even have have traces of lead.
The reality: there is no perfect source of water, but the best is tap water that has been treated with a compressed carbon filter found in counter-top or under-counter systems. This type of filter removes heavy metals, chlorine, bacteria, viruses, and other impurities but leaves valuable mineral ions, such as calcium, magnesium, iodine, silicon, and selenium in the water. (Please note that pitcher-type filters generally is the least effective and are certified to remove only copper, mercury, cadmium, chlorine, and zinc.)
Unfortunately, carbon filters are less effective in removing fluoride. Why is fluoride added to our water supply? There is now overwhelming evidence that fluoride does not prevent tooth decay but instead, may lead to dental fluorisis (staining and pitting of teeth), weakened bones, low thyroid, and a host of other illnesses. That's why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended mothers not to use fluoridated water when using formula to feed their baby.
Reverse osmosis removes about 80% of the fluoride anddistillation 55-60%, but they also create acidic and demineralized water. One way to remedy this is to reintroduce minerals into the water by stirring in some Himalayan or sea salt. Bear in mind that reverse osmosis is expensive and it wastes a lot of water. Depending on the brand, it takes anywhere from 2-10 gallons of water to produce one gallon of drinking water.
Bottled water is no guarantee of purity either and it is less regulated than tap water. Of course, the best comes from a natural spring. If you choose to drink bottled water, you should know:
Please be aware that about 40% of bottled water in the market is just regular tap water, which may or may not have been treated. Aquafina and Dasani are two examples of such water.
What's more, you should never leave plastic-bottled water in a hot car as the higher temperature can result in chemicals leaching into the water.
Plastic bottles have become an enormous environmental problem for humanity. As good as it feels to haul your plastic bottles to a recycler, do you realize that 86% of plastic bottles never get recycled, leaving a massive number of them sitting in landfills and floating like massive plastic islands in our oceans? According to the Sierra Club, the U.S. alone uses 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the water bottles we toss into landfills every year, releasing many toxic by-products into the environment.
Best Temperature For Drinking Water
If you drink iced water, your stomach will have to hold it until it reaches body temperature before releasing it into the small intestine for use. Drinking iced water alone is not that bad unless you are already dehydrated as the iced water cannot be put to use immediately.
However, drinking iced water with food may compromise your digestion as the extra time the water stays in the stomach results in the dilution of your stomach acid and digestive enzymes. If you find that this is your problem, don't drink so much water, particularly iced water with your meals. For those who are deficient in stomach acid, drink 15-30 minutes before eating. Nevertheless, remember to chew your food properly before swallowing instead of swallowing half-chewed food with a gulp of water.
The best is to drink warm (second best is room temperature), clean, filtered water. It is the most natural and economical way to replenish your body's fluid requirements.
If you have a need to flavor your water, add a few fresh mint leaves, fresh ginger, sliced cucumber, strawberries, apple, or lemon/orange peel into your water. There is no reason to spend your money on all the fancy waters that may not even be good for your health.
The 2011 Sleep in America poll (National Sleep Foundation) found some rather astounding statistics about how well Americans are sleeping:
Sixty percent of the Americans (ages 13-64) say they experience a sleep problem every night or almost every night (i.e. snoring, waking in the night, waking up too early, or feeling un-refreshed when they get up in the morning).
If you are one of those who often have difficulty sleeping at night or feel sleepy the next day, you need to address your sleep problem as chronic sleep deficit will cause havoc to your health. Below are some suggestions that may help enhance your sleep.
Why Sleep Is Critical To Health
Sleep is one of the great mysteries of life. Although we are learning more about it every day, we still don't fully understand the purposes and mechanisms of sleep. However, we do know that good sleep is one of the cornerstones of good health.
In humans, the sleeping clock is controlled by your circadian rhythm, which has evolved over hundreds of generations to align your bodily functions with your environment. Your body clock is set to sleep at night and stay awake during daylight hours, just like your ancestors did. Therefore, if you are a night-shift worker, this upside-down schedule can eventually take a serious toll on your health if you continue to live out of synch with your daily surroundings.
Most adults require 7-9 hours of sleep, while teens (10-17 years) need 8.5-9.25 hours and school-age children (5-10 years) 10-11 hours. If you seldom get enough sleep during the week, sleeping in on weekends can relieve some of the symptoms of sleep deprivation.
However, cumulative sleep debt cannot be repaid by merely a couple nights of catching up. A chronic deficit of high quality sleep changes your hormone production and metabolism and has far reaching effects on your immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems.
Dramatically weaken your immune system
Increase your risk of diabetes
People who are sleep deprived tend to crave more sweet and starchy foods. These cravings stem from the fact that your brain is fueled by glucose or blood sugar. When there is not enough sleep, your brain searches for carbohydrates and makes you feel hungry, even if you have already eaten. Sleep deprivation can also impair your insulin sensitivity and put you at a higher risk for diabetes.
Hypertension and heart disease
Chronic sleep loss may not only hasten the onset but also increase the severity of these age-related ailments.
Weight gain
When you are sleep deprived, your body decreases production of leptin (hormone that signals fullness) and increases levels of ghrelin (hormone that signals hunger). You end up feeling more hungry and eating more.
Accelerated aging
Sleep deprivation prematurely ages you by interfering with the production of growth hormones. Growth hormones are secreted during deep sleep and they make you look and feel younger.
Seriously impair your brain function
Even a single night of poor sleep can impact your ability to think clearly the following day. It impairs your performance on physical and mental tasks, decreases your problem solving ability, and affects your memory.
In short, if you are not getting enough sleep or not sleeping well, you need to address the cause of your problem. The following are some suggestions on how to improve your sleep.
Healthy Sleep Advice
The secret to getting good sleep every night may vary from person to person; what works for some may not work as well for others. The key is to experiment and discover your personal sleep-promoting techniques. With improved quality of sleep, you can strive to get the right amount of sleep so that you will be able to function at your best.
Change Your Sleep Habits And Environment
Change Your Diet And Lifestyle
Other Health Considerations
So you have heard a great deal about the enormous health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Indeed, there is overwhelming evidence supporting these claims. But what are omega-3s in the first place?
Omega-3 fatty acids consist of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). The magic source of omega-3s is the fat of cold water fish such as salmon, sardines, herrings, mackerel, black cod, and bluefish. Omega-3s are essential for our bodies to function normally. Since we cannot produce them internally, they have to be consumed through diet or supplementation.
There is much confusion when it comes to choosing the best fish to eat or buying a good omega-3s supplement. Can you take flax oil to get your omega-3s? Or should you be taking an omega 3-6-9 blend instead? Read on to find the answers.
Omega-3s Health Benefits
Omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) are the building blocks for hormones that control immune function, blood clotting, cell growth as well as components of cell membranes. Omega-3s are crucial to human health because they are potent inflammation suppressors and inflammation is the cause of most chronic degenerative diseases.
Unfortunately, modern day diet is way too low in omega-3s and too high in omega-6s, which tend to promote inflammation. Omega-6s are found abundantly in seeds and nuts and refined vegetable oils made from canola, corn, soybean, safflower, and sunflower. Most processed foods, fast foods, and restaurant foods are prepared with these refined oils.
Although our bodies need some omega-6s for proper functioning, too much omega-6s contribute to inflammation. The more omega-6s you eat, the more omega-3s you need to maintain optimal health. It is now well understood that a deficiency of omega-3s leads to many diseases and disorders, many of which improve when omega-3s supplementation is used. These include:
Getting Your Omega-3s From Fish
Fish like tuna, mackerel, lake trout, salmon, anchovies, herrings, and sardines have the highest concentration of omega-3s. Unfortunately, most fish, especially the larger ones, are heavily contaminated with mercury.
Mercury can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages. It is especially toxic to unborn babies and young children.
Therefore, the only recommended fish for regular consumption are wild-caught Alaskan salmon (not the farmed salmon), anchovies, herrings, and sardines. If you want to get your omega-3s from eating fish, make sure the fish is a wild-caught, non-threatened specie that is low on the food chain and came from pristine, clean waters; otherwise, you may run the risk of mercury poisoning in the long-run.
Aside from seafood, another option is to eat meats from grass-fed animals. Studies show that grass-fed beef contains omega-3s in 7% of its fat, versus just 1% in grain or corn-fed beef.
Is Flax A Good Source Of Omega-3s?
Many vegetarians prefer to consume flax to get their omega-3s. Flax seed contains ALA (alpha linolenic acid), a precursor to EPA and DHA in omega-3s, which means the body has to convert the ALA to make EPA and DHA.
Though flax seed is omega-3-rich, in reality, the biological effects of ALA is not equivalent to the omega-3s found in fish oil. Many people, especially vegans and those who are not in good health, are not efficient in the conversion. This results in excess levels of ALA in the body, which may not be beneficial. Therefore, flax should not be consumed in excess.
What's more, flax seed oil goes rancid easily and has to be stored in opaque, airtight containers in the refrigerator. You should only buy cold-pressed, unrefined flax oil and it should never be used in cooking. If the oil has a noticeable odor, it has probably turned bad and should be discarded.
In short, unless you have an allergy to fish, it is much preferable to consume the omega-3s from fish oil. If you are a vegan, there are DHA supplements derived from algae. However, you should also pair it with flax to get the ALA and EPA.
How To Look For A Quality Fish Oil Supplement?
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America. An estimated 81 million American adults, or more than 1 in 3, have one or more types of cardiovascular disease, including:
For more than two decades, cholesterol has been vilified as the culprit for heart disease. You have been told by doctors and the media to keep your cholesterol as low as possible. Consequently, a low-fat diet is endorsed and foods like eggs and animal (saturated) fats that are high in cholesterol are banished.
In reality, cholesterol is vital for your body. It is found not only in your bloodstream, but also in every cell in your body, where it helps to produce cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids for fat digestion. Moreover, cholesterol is essential for your memory and brain function.
Eating foods high in cholesterol does not simply translate to high blood cholesterol. In reality, one of cholesterol's roles is to repair injuries. When the liver receives signals that there is damage in the lining of the arteries, it transports cholesterol to the area to do the repair work. High levels of cholesterol often indicate that you have sustained much damage.
So what causes damage in the lining of arteries in the first place? Latest research shows that insulin and leptin resistance are the strong causal link to such damage leading to cardiovascular disease. Insulin and leptin resistance is the result of eating too much sugar and refined carbs over an extended period of time.
In this case, how come so many doctors are still prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) to their patients? What are the side effects of statins and are they truly effective in lowering your risk of heart disease? Read on to learn more.
High blood cholesterol does not necessarily mean that you have a higher risk of heart disease. Find out how to assess your heart disease risk from your blood test results.
Finally, like other degenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease is mostly preventable by good dietary and lifestyle habits. Learn ways to naturally lower your risk of heart disease.
Is cholesterol The Cause Of Heart Disease?
75% of the cholesterol in your bloodstream comes from what your liver is manufacturing and distributing. That's why the cholesterol that you eat plays little role in determining your cholesterol levels in the blood.
The cholesterol that's being made by the liver and deposited in your arteries is called LDL (the "bad" cholesterol), and the cholesterol that's being taken away from the arteries back to the liver is called HDL (the "good" cholesterol). The reason cholesterol is taken back to the liver is that it can be conserved and recycled for future use.
One function of cholesterol is to keep your cell membranes from falling apart; it acts like a super glue. When the lining of your arteries are damaged, inflammation occurs, just like when you cut your finger. The liver is notified to send cholesterol to the damaged site to do repair work. This is a deliberate process that takes place in order for your body to produce new, healthy cells.
A common problem is that there is damage occurring in your body on a regular basis. In this case, you have chronic inflammation, which leads to accumulation of cholesterol in your arteries (called plaque) and an increased risk for high blood pressure and heart attacks.
Hundreds of scientific studies have now linked insulin and leptin resistance, caused by eating too much sugar and white carbs, to damage in the lining of arteries and cardiovascular disease. That's why people with diabetes (a disease characterized by insulin and leptin resistance) have a much higher risk of heart disease than people with normal blood sugar levels.
To make things worse, insulin and leptin resistance also result in a greater number of small, dense LDL cholesterol (as opposed to bigger and less dense LDL) which can squeeze between the cell lining inside the arteries and get stuck, potentially oxidize (turn rancid), and cause more inflammation and plaque formation.
Are Statins The Cure For Heart Disease?
If you have high cholesterol, it means that you have chronic inflammation in the body. The cholesterol is there to help your body heal and repair.
By taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, yes, you are lowering your cholesterol levels and reducing plaque buildup in your arteries but you are not addressing why your body needs to produce the extra cholesterol in the first place. Besides, with less cholesterol to do the repair work, how do you heal the damage in the lining of the arteries?
Statin drugs have proliferated in the market. In America, it is the second most common class of medications prescribed, after antidepressants. Many doctors prescribe them to lower their patients' cholesterol, not understanding that they are only dealing with the symptoms but not the underlying disease.
In addition, they are exposing their patients to a series ofmajor side effects, including:
Statins also lower your CoQ10, which is an antioxidant that mops up free radicals and a biochemical that transfers energy from food to your cells to be used for the work of staying alive and healthy. Statins, by blocking the pathway involved in cholesterol production, also blocks the same pathway by which CoQ10 is produced.
The loss of CoQ10 leads to loss of cell energy and increased free radicals which further damage your DNA and accelerate aging. The heart is usually the first to feel the statin-associated CoQ10 depletion because of its extremely high energy demands. The longer you are on the drug, the more complications you may have. These can range from chronic fatigue to cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease) and congestive heart failure.
Hence, if you are on statins, you need to supplement with CoQ10. If you are over 40, you should take the reduced version called ubiquinol as your body is less efficient in converting it. Unfortunately, most doctors don't tell you this.
Given all these unpleasant side effects, are statins really effective in lowering your risk of heart disease? Many studies show that the result is inconclusive for people who have not had a heart attack.
Even BusinessWeek did a story on this topic in the January 17, 2008 issue. It reports that in Pfizer's own newspaper ad for Lipitor, the drug company boasts that Lipitor reduces heart attacks by 36%. But there is an asterisk next to it and in smaller print underneath, it says: "In a large clinical study, 3% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor."
What this means is that for every 100 people who took Lipitor over the test period, 3 people who were on placebos had heart attacks, versus 2 people on Lipitor. Not a significant achievement to brag about!
Other studies on Zetia and Vytorin (which is a combination of Zetia and Zocor) also fail to show that the drugs reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes.
Therefore, unless you have already had a heart attack, were born with a genetic defect called familial hypercholesterolemia, or are high in heart disease risk factors (see below), you should carefully weigh the risks and benefits before taking statins.
Alternatively, you may consider taking niacin (vitamin B3) to raise your HDL, and lower small, dense LDL and triglycerides (fats in blood). The major side effect of high-dose niacin is flushing of the skin and itching. Unfortunately, the non-flush niacin that's available in the market seems to be ineffective for this purpose.
Make sure the niacin is nicotinic acid and not other related forms as they are not as effective. Start with 500 mg of sustained release niacin every other day and slowly work up to 2 grams per day to minimize side effects such as upset stomach, headache, and dizziness.
Take niacin with a big meal like dinner and 2 glasses of water to reduce the hot flush. Sometimes, it is necessary to take an uncoated aspirin 30 minutes before taking the niacin. Also, don't drink alcohol or hot fluids around the time of the dose.
Do not take niacin if you have chronic liver disease, diabetes, or peptic ulcer. Always consult with your physician before taking high-dose niacin.
How To Assess Your Risk Of Heart Disease
Except for people whose total cholesterol is 340 or higher, your cholesterol number is not necessarily the most accurate measure of heart disease risk. The following are indicators from your blood test results that provide a better assessment of your risk:
Small, dense LDL, homocysteine, and CRP are not part of your typical blood cholesterol tests. You have to specifically request for these additional tests.
Please note that some people with high cholesterol may not have a high risk of heart disease and should definitely not be taking statins. On the other hand, some people with low cholesterol are actually at risk for heart disease. The next section discusses ways to prevent heart disease through heart-healthy dietary and lifestyle habits.
How To Naturally Reduce Your Risk Of Heart Disease
The goal here is not to reduce your cholesterol as low as it can go because cholesterol, as explained, serves some very important functions in the body. Rather, you want to avoid chronic inflammation which raises your risk of heart disease as well as many other degenerative diseases.
The odds are very high that you or someone you know had cancer or had died from it. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US, after heart disease. Men have slightly less than a 1 in 2 lifetime risk of developing cancer, while for women, the risk is a little more than 1 in 3.
All cancers involve the malfunction of genes that control cell growth and division. Every cell in the body has a program that tells it what to do, called the DNA or the genetic code.
If the cell DNA code gets changed a bit by hormonal imbalance, chemicals, or free radicals, mutations occur. The cells with mutated DNA no longer look like the original cells we were born with. Also, mutations accumulate with age, that's why about 78% of all cancers are diagnosed in persons 55 years and older.
About 5% of all cancers are strongly hereditary. However, most cancers do not result from inherited genes but from damage to genes occurring during one's lifetime.
We all have a few cancer cells in our bodies, which are normally suppressed by our immune system. We need about a billion cancer cells to get to the lump or bump stage, which means a tumor takes years to develop.
Cancer is, by and large, a man-made disease. There is a lot you can do now to significantly reduce that risk. Be aware of the multiple factors that can bring on this disease as well as the many nutritional interventions that can reduce your cancer risk.
Factors That Can Cause Cancer
1. Constant Emotional Stress
Negative emotions are the most powerful aspect of creating illness. Even the CDC (Center for Disease and Prevention) states that 85% of disease is caused by emotions. If you are constantly stressed or harboring angry, fearful, worrying, cynical, depressed or pessimistic emotions, the body can generate free radicals that promote DNA damage.
2. Toxins Accumulating In The Body
In modern days, we are continually exposed to numerous environmental and dietary toxins. Once these toxins enter the body, they tend to accumulate (especially in the fat cells) and produce enormous amounts of free radicals which in due course, damage the DNA. Hence, it is crucial to recognize and avoid them in the first place.
Environmental toxins:
Dietary toxins:
3. Extra Pounds
It is crucial to maintain a healthy weight throughout life. Two-thirds of the Americans are either overweight or obese. Click here for the Body Mass Index Table to see if you are normal weight, overweight, or obese.
Extra pounds raise the risk of many cancers, including breast, colon, esophageal, kidney, pancreatic, and uterine. If you need help and support in losing weight healthily, contact me for a complimentary phone consultation regarding theMetabolic Typing Nutrition Program.
4. Hormonal Imbalance
We all have cancer-protective genes in our bodies, they are like light switches. Sadly, when we age, these switches get turned off as our hormonal production declines. Of course, by not managing stress, eating badly, and consuming and living with chemicals, we put even more stress on our entire hormonal system.
To reinstate these cancer-protective genes, we need to live and eat better and restore the hormones to proper balance. When you replace your hormones, it is critical that you use bio-identical hormones that are exactly the same as those produced by the body, not the synthetic hormones manufactured by drug companies as they have been shown to cause cancer. Please consult a healthcare professional who is familiar with bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT).
Below are some hormones that have a direct effect on cancer growth:
5. Excessive Alcohol Intake
Studies show that women who drink more than 2 drinks a day significantly increase their free iron (iron not bound to protein) concentrations in breast tissue. Free iron triggers intense inflammation and free radical generation.
However, one's iron intake does not correlate with risk of breast cancer. It is high alcohol intake and excessive estrogen that lead to a higher incidence of invasive breast cancer.
6. Too Much Or Too Little Exercise
Exercise is crucial as it increases oxygen supply to the cells. Normal, healthy cells require sufficient oxygen to function well, whereas, cancer cells can only multiply and flourish in an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment. What's more, when you sweat, it carries away a lot of toxins accumulated in the body, especially the toxins in the fat cells.
Having said that, too much exercise is not beneficial either as the body becomes constantly stressed, producing a vast amount of free radicals that can eventually lead to DNA damage.
Diet That Reduces Cancer Risk
The Bottom Line
To reduce your cancer risk,
Avoid:
Do:
