Healthiest You Ever

“There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.”

Fruits offer a multitude of healthy benefits—including being a vitamin-rich (and fiber-rich) way to indulge your sweet tooth. Fruit’s sweet flavor comes from fructose, a naturally occurring sugar that serves as a good source of energy—and it’s packed with healthy substances such as vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, folic acid, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber, just to name a few. Citrus fruits, berries, and melons are excellent sources of vitamin C. Dried fruits are available all year long and are an excellent source of many nutrients including fiber. Almost all fruits are good for you, but some are better than others. When it comes to fruit, apples, bananas, berries, citrus fruit, and melons are your best bets because of their high fiber and nutrient content. Researchers at Scripps Clinic found that fruit eaters ate fewer calories overall compared to those not adding fruit to their diet. Fruit can help you satisfy sugar cravings, feel full longer, and eat less.

BONUS!

All fruits contain powerful enzymes that have powerful antibacterial qualities. Enzymes help cleanse the gastrointestinal system by digesting and neutralizing excess protein and fat. If consumed regularly, fruit enzymes can also help flush out the tissues, organs, and muscles by ridding them of these same excesses.

“Strength training includes working with weights, but it is not body building. The objective is not to have massive biceps or washboard abs. You are not aiming for the Arnold Schwarzenegger look. In fact, if you strength train properly, you will probably look leaner than before you started.”

Many of the benefits of exercise come from the body having to undergo a new experience. When you start walking, running, weight lifting, or doing any other sport, your body gets exposed to new movements and strains. The human body has learned to accommodate to new stresses by adjusting itself to respond to that stress. When you lift weights, your body responds to the stress on your muscles by building more muscle. When you perform cardiovascular exercise, your body responds by the heart building more muscle to accommodate to the need for increased blood flow. Other changes occur as well. In addition to your muscles and heart, other areas of your body also strengthen. Your bones, tendons, and ligaments all restructure to increase their strength. You build more oxygen-carrying red blood cells and oxygen-transporting blood vessels. The body’s response to the work of exercise is to make it stronger, and this new strength benefits all aspects of your life.

To improve your overall strength, vary your workouts. If you’re lifting weights two days a week, spend two days swimming or three days power walking. The goal is to work different muscle groups and to keep asking your body to do a wider range of exercise.

Your brain needs just as many vitamins as the rest of your body does, and it gets them from the bloodstream. When vitamin absorption is reduced or impeded as a result of a poor diet or an illness, the brain is one of the first organs to feel it. Below is a quick rundown of some of the more essential vitamins needed for long-term brain health.

• Vitamin A. This antioxidant helps protect brain cells from harmful free radicals and benefits the circulatory system so blood flow to the brain remains strong.

• Vitamin B6. This important vitamin helps convert sugar into glucose, which the brain needs for fuel. It also benefits general circulation, which can improve memory.

• Vitamin B1. Like B₁₂, this nutrient is a potent antioxidant. It is also required for numerous metabolic processes within the brain and peripheral nervous system.

• Folic Acid. This nutrient aids cerebral circulation by inhibiting narrowing of the arteries in the neck. Studies also suggest that daily supplements of folic acid can reduce the likelihood of certain age-related psychiatric problems, including dementia.

While you are relatively safe taking a multivitamin, when you want to boost your intake of specific vitamins, it is always wise to run it past your doctor. If you take medication, it is particularly important to make sure elevated levels of vitamins will not adversely affect the medication. Some vitamins can be toxic when taken in huge doses.

“Water consumption is the best method for preactivity or preventative hydration.”

Water has a very substantial responsibility within the body. Without water, bodily processes necessary for life would shut down in a matter of days. Water makes up the greatest component of the human body, comprising 50–70 percent of the body’s weight. Interestingly, human beings can survive for up to eight weeks without food but only a couple of days without water.

Water has many jobs throughout the body. It acts as a lubricant all over the body—in joints and connective tissues and within organs and vessels—and it even lubricates the body’s cells. It also provides electrolytes (sodium, calcium, and magnesium) to the body that are necessary for the balance of fluid compartments found throughout the body. Water also contributes to temperature regulation, helps remove wastes from the body, and can even act as a shock absorber in some parts of the body.

Adults should drink approximately 8 to 12 cups of water per day, maybe more if heavy sweating occurs. If you don’t drink enough water your brain will let you know by telling you that you’re thirsty. Once you have become thirsty, it usually means you have waited too long to intake water and you may already be dehydrated. It’s best to drink water throughout the day to stay properly hydrated.

WHEN ENERGY DRINKS ARE WARRANTED

For exercise that is less than sixty minutes in duration, you should replace the fluid lost from sweat with water. Carbohydrate and electrolyte stores are not usually depleted in this length of time. Anything beyond sixty minutes, carbohydrate and electrolyte replacement does become important and these drinks may be helpful.

“Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.”

Pilates is all about developing strong core muscles by moving your limbs. All you need is a floor mat or yoga mat and about fifteen minutes. When you do each move, pay special attention to the breathing instructions. When you inhale, make it a very slow, deep breath, and feel your body expand with the breath. When you exhale, do it slowly and feel your body get just a little smaller and more relaxed.

Lie with your stomach on the floor, arms over your head, legs out behind you, and abs gently contracted. Keeping your neck long, lift your arms and legs just a little off the floor and start to “swim” with your arms and legs, fluttering them. Do this about thirty times.

“I do an awful lot of scuba diving. I love to be on the ocean, under the ocean. I live next to the ocean.”

You’ve dreamed of seeing coral reefs, sunken treasure ships, and the beautiful world that lies beneath the surface of the ocean. What’s keeping you from making your dream a reality? Dive shops often have dive instructors who will teach you the basics in a swimming pool. Then you’ll take day trips to the ocean or a body of water where you can put what you’ve learned to work. Divers watch out for each other and the friendships can continue long after the dive is over. Find the time, money, and the courage to go after your dreams. On the other side of achieving them, you’ll feel pleasure and gratification and have a few new friends. And you’ll work some muscles and lose lots of weight!

Your body, including your brain, actually mends and maintains itself when you sleep. If you strength train or do any sort of resistance exercise, then your muscles repair themselves and grow stronger when you’re asleep. If you don’t sleep, your muscles will stay fatigued and not get stronger. Getting enough sleep helps keep you safe; being sleep-deprived increases the likelihood of accidents and mistakes. It’s helpful to first recognize that you want to sleep well, i.e., seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Go to sleep and wake up at the same times. Your body loves regularity. If you are someone who sleeps very late on the weekends and then has trouble waking up for work on Monday, or if you sometimes stay up late and then crash the next evening, you aren’t helping yourself. Instead, seek regularity in your sleeping patterns.

TRY A SOOTHING LAVENDER BATH

A warm, lavender-scented bath is a great way to relax and unwind. It also promotes restful sleep. Lavender oil in a hot bath or as a massage oil before bed and lavender oil on the pillow can be very relaxing.