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If you have browsed through your favorite bookstore lately in search of help in succeeding in your quest to live a healthy lifestyle or where to start out on your fitness program, you probably walked out more confused then when you walked in. Looking to the internet in many cases is not much more help due to the massive amounts of data to sift through much of which is geared toward those that mother nature still favors. Lastly much of the information you find does nothing more than explain why we should be working out and staying active, something we have all heard and are well aware of at this stage in life.

For those of us that mother nature does not favor quite as much as before we turned 40 we can read all of the fitness articles that we want, sign-up for various programs, getting a training coach and any number of other options, but something the marketing gurus fail to mention is that biochemically speaking we are not programmed to succeed. Mother Nature has started turning off those longevity signals, the rebuild/repair signals and no amount of training is going to change that – sorry. The good news is that we can turn these signals back on and once we have our bodies in an anabolic (rebuild/repair) state we can succeed and in grand fashion. The key to turning those signals back on is DHEA which has been proven in numerous IRB certified tests to have a profound impact on the aging process and most importantly returning our bodies, biochemically speaking, to a more youthful state. To do this properly please see a use with the direction of your health professional to have your DHEA sulfate levels tested.

While a very powerful and critical component to any fitness program anyone 40+ DHEA is not a quick fix and please do not approach it with this mentality. However, take note that it does work and as mentioned previously there is a lot of data to support this claim. As an example a year long study with postmenopausal women clearly demonstrated increased bone density, improved glucose tolerance, enhanced feelings of well being, decreased body fat, increased muscle mass, improved liver functions and NO side effects.

Once you shift your body from a catabolic (downward spiral) state back into an anabolic state of rebuild/repair you are ready to get to work.

First and foremost avoid being a weekend warrior. Those individuals that spend a couple weekends a month working out really do more harm than good. In short their bodies simply don’t ever have an opportunity to increase strength, flexibility and/or stamina and in short they are putting themselves in a position whereby they are much more susceptible to injury. Consistent exercise spread throughout the entire week is much more beneficial.

Set goals. Whatever your goals for taking up a fitness/wellness program put them in writing and just as importantly put them somewhere that you will see them often. Share them with a friend; find yourself an accountability partner; a workout partner; or your spouse. By taking this small step you have just greatly increased your odds of success. Clearly defined goals are a critical step towards success in any devour. Along the lines of setting goals, make your goals achievable and realistic. One of the biggest contributors to people failing when starting out with a new workout regimen is discouragement – we are wired to like success. Set some realistic short term goals that can be stepping stones towards your bigger long term goals. Remember it is important to see progress and the best way to measure that progress is to have goals.

Moderation is the key. Moderate consistent exercise is proven to stimulate your metabolism, promote weight loss and most importantly reduces your risk of injury. Remember that you are actually reprogramming your body, over time, to use the calories that you take in daily for energy, rebuilding your muscles and not storing it as fat. When we are sedentary our bodies learn that we don’t need a lot of that extra energy, the muscles are NOT working and as such it is much easier to simply store those calories as fat. Just as we can program our bodies to know that we don’t need that energy we have the ability to change that programming through moderate consistent exercise spread over 3 to 5 days a week.

As an important note please do not get discourage by all of the charts that have been published showing that for example you burn 200 calories after doing a specific exercise for 30 minutes. The truth is that your body continues to burn calories at an increase rate long after you have stopped exercising and as previously mentioned your body will learn to burn more calories on daily basis.

If cost is a concern one of the most effective and efficient exercises is walking. With a good pair of walking shoes you are ready to go. From walking through the neighborhood, walking on the track at the local school or walking through the mall during bad weather you have an unlimited number of options. In a number of cities malls have started opening their doors long before the stores open to allow patrons to do their walking without the added challenge of dodging shoppers.

Please do not forget or discount strength training. In order to maximize your benefits gained from exercise it is imperative that increase your upper body strength. Most exercising provides great benefits to all of the large muscles located in our legs, but does little to increase our upper body strength. If you are wondering why the importance of upper body strength/training keep in mind that 65% of your muscles are above your waist. Research has shown that for most people their upper body muscles are the most underdeveloped muscles they have. As such moderate training on alternate days provides the most benefit as it gives the muscles the time required to rebuild and repair themselves after being stressed. It is important to note that we are not talking about large amounts of weight as most people could benefit significantly from weights ranging from 3lbs to 10lbs.

Get help! If you are a do-it yourself type person this is one area that it is strongly recommended that you seek the guidance of an experienced trainer. There are numerous details about training that can only be taught by and experienced trainer and most importantly having that feedback during the workout process is critical. Being able to correct bad form, posture, and/or little details of a particular exercise is very important prior to developing bad habits.

Stretching is often an overlooked but very critical component for the success of any fitness program. Strength, flexibility and reduced chances for injury are benefits of proper stretching both before, after and during your workouts. Yes, during your workout. Moving through the complete range of motion for a given exercise not only stresses the muscle, but provides the stretching of the muscles that is required for full range of motion. Many times people feel that the stretching part of the workout is optional, they don’t schedule time for that part of the workout and when sporting some sore muscles stretching isn’t any fun, but your success greatly depends on this often overlooked component.

Rest and Relaxation are just as important if not more important than the exercise part of your routine. It boils down to the fact that your muscles do not grow while you are in the gym. That is where they are being stressed, broken down and tore down due to the stressors of the exercises that you are putting them through. Once you have torn your muscles down, they need time to rebuild and repair themselves. For young athletes over training is often one of the biggest reasons they are not performing at their maximum potential.

Armed with the above tips you are much more likely to succeed. Remember to get the important nutrients that your body needs to maintain an anabolic state, maintain a consistent moderate workout pattern, find a workout routine that fits your schedule and provides adequate stimulation for both your upper and lower body, get help from a professional trainer/coach, remember to stretch both before and after your workouts, and lastly relax.

How often have you heard the statement “Use it or Loose it”? What about the now famous Nike slogan “Just Do It”? If you have heard these or any number of other slogans they make it seem that getting out and running a marathon is a matter of jumping up, putting on some running shoes and going for a leisurely 30 mile run.

Compare that to starting out with a new workout routine whereby you start by doing some exercise, maybe walking/running a mile, cycling or any number of other activities, only feel like you have been hit by a car the next morning.  Rest assured that you are not the only one that has gone through this experience. What our faced paced, instant gratification society has failed to explain to people is that “Just Do It” is not reality and unfortunately what you are feeling that next morning is reality.

Having spent a number of years working out in various gyms the same thing happens year after year. Starting in January and running through about the end of February getting a spot to workout is at a premium, but by the time March roles around things begin to thin out. Where does everyone go? In short human nature is such that we are not going to do something that doesn’t feel good, at least not for very long. Unfortunately, all of the marketing campaigns out there would like you to believe that good health and staying physically fit is simply a matter of joining the local gym/spa and starting a workout routine.

That is by far the worst thing someone can be thinking when starting out on an exercise regimen. That wasn’t the case when you were 20 years old and now that we are all much older that certainly is not the case. If any of the above rings true to you, below you will find some helpful tips that might just help increase your odds of success next time you begin to exercise. Now for those of you who are successfully maintaining a workout regimen don’t checkout as there may be some helpful tips here that will help you stay on the road to success and a much healthier you!

First of all you need to know that starting out on a new workout regimen is going to cause some soreness, stiff muscles, and general aches and pains. Sure we have all heard that working out is important for out health, that it will give you increased energy, improved bone density, and the list goes on. What they failed to tell you is that these things do not happen in the first couple of weeks. If all goes well you need to get through the first 6 to 8 weeks of any new workout routine before you are going to start seeing these benefits. Yes, you read that correctly, that is 6 to 8 weeks before you will start to see benefits. 

That is exactly why what we are talking about here is a healthy lifestyle. We were designed by our maker to move. At our very lowest level in our DNA we are wired to exercise, get certain nutrients and in with all of these things in place we are constantly rebuilding our bodies. Your body is a miracle at work replacing at a minimum of 300 billion cells everyday and as you can imagine if you create 300 billion healthy cells today, tomorrow and moving forward you will in a very real sense grow younger.

Now that we know we are not all capable of jumping into a pair of running shoes are starting out on our first marathon with no training, let’s look at how to get there. Well maybe not running a marathon, but having the energy, strength and stamina to do the things that we want to do.

Start out SLOW! Rome was not built in a day and you certainly are not going to transform your body in one day of working out.
Start with a long term vision that this is a new part of your life. Find something that you enjoy and stick with it. As many of us have heard variety is the spice of life. This is very true with or workouts. Do different things from time to time, but stay active. If you have spouse and they will participate with you the chances of your success just went up 10 fold. Walking, running, cycling, weight training, swimming, rowing, yoga, dancing and this list could go on forever.

If at all possible try to include some type of weight bearing exercises a couple of times a week as these are great for increased muscle density and there is countless studies showing that increased muscle is imperative for longevity. This does not mean going out and trying to become the next Arnold, but it does mean stressing the muscle to the point that they know they are still needed and expected to work.

Additionally, stretching is a must with any workout program as this helps protect the joints by improving range of motion thereby synovial fluid production which increases ligament strength/health.

Lastly and very important make sure that you are getting the proper nutrition. Even with the best of diets you simply can not get all of the nutrients that your body needs to maintain a healthy lifestyle and more importantly and solid anti-aging program. While there is not ample room to cover this here, please note that according to many experts the recommended daily allowance (RDA) does not provide adequate nutrition for the majority of our population and that certainly applies to someone who is staying active with any kind of a workout routine. As such your typical one a day type vitamin is like taking a glass of water to a forest fire and trying to put the fire out.

The same rules apply that have always applied: “Use It or Loose It”, but  let’s be smart about the way we use it.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and is one of the most important vitamins for your body with numerous biological functions.  Vitamin C helps to prevent a lot of diseases, boosts your body’s immune system and works to help protect your body’s cholesterol from oxidative stress.  You can take this vitamin with or without any food, as it can be found in supplement form or in many different juices.  Along with being found in supplement and vitamin form, you can find vitamin C in broccoli, strawberries, red peppers, citrus fruits, mustard greens, cauliflower, papaya, and parsley.

Research has shown that the antioxidant properties of vitamin C help protect against heart disease, protect smokers from the vast number of free radicals and is needed by the body to make collagen – the glue of the body.  Even though you shouldn’t take excessive amounts of vitamin C, double a blind-trial found that 500 mg of Vitamin C per day taken for one year reduced the risk of developing reflex sympathetic dystrophy.  Vitamin C is also thought to protect the body against the accumulation and/or retention of numerous toxic minerals.

Vitamin C is well known as an antioxidant, protecting your skin from the harmful damage of UV rays.  If you skin suffers from radiation damage, vitamin C can actually help your skin to recover and reverse some of the harmful effects.  If you include vitamin C in your diet and take it every day, you’ll notice that your skin will benefit.  If you use vitamin E and C together, you’ll notice that scars and other harmful defects on your skin will start to heal as well.

You can find vitamin C in many fruits and vegetables, although oranges will give you the most amounts.  Orange juice is a great way to get some of the vitamin C that your body requires.  Even drinking a glass of orange juice in the morning with your breakfast you will want to supplement with vitamin C to ensure that you are getting optimal amounts.
 
In order to get adequate and/or optimal amounts of vitamin C in your diet, you will want to use vitamin supplements.  When looking for supplements, you should always check to see how much vitamin C is in the supplement as vitamin C is provided in a wide range of dosages.  In order to get the most benefit from your vitamin C it is best to take several times a day as vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin and will not remain in your system as long as fat soluble vitamins. As long as you monitor your intake of vitamin C and use it on a daily basis, you’ll find that your health and immune system will be better than ever.

The most common signs of a deficiency in vitamin C include fatigue, swollen/bleeding gums, an unexplained weakness, and nosebleeds.  Deficiency is common these days, with the most common reasons being alcoholism, smoking and poor diet. Additionally people with kidney failure are at increased risk of vitamin C deficiency, but should only take vitamin C under the supervision of a doctor.

One of the common questions that are raised surrounds the approval of supplements by the FDA. While the FDA is responsible for overseeing a range of various items the primary area that you hear this organization mentioned is in relation to mostly food products and drugs. As for the FTC, they are a federal agency which regulates all advertising, excluding prescription drugs and medical devices, to ensure that advertisements are truthful and not misleading for consumers. Based on the above information one would assume that supplements of any type would fall under one if not both of these federal agencies.

By virtue of the fact that natural supplements are not a drug they are not regulated by the FDA which most people would naturally see as a bad idea. However, in light of the recent history of a number of drugs that have been approved by the FDA and subsequently led to the death of thousands of people, maybe regulation by the FDA is not all that it is supposed to be. Most recently a drug, Avandia, prescribed for patients with Diabetes has come under fire due to new findings that clearly show that there is a substantial increased risk for heart failure when taking this drug. More surprising is the fact that with in weeks of these findings the FDA has recommended that the drug remain on the market with stronger warnings.

More surprising is the fact that it was recently reported that, health authorities were aware of heart risks linked to GlaxoSmithKline diabetes drug Avandia and another competitor nearly five years ago.  More importantly it has been noted that researchers reported Avandia, or rosiglitazone, raises the risk of cardiovascular-related death by 64 percent and the risk of heart attack by 43 percent and yes this product is back on the market. Is any of this starting to sound vaguely familiar? Perhaps this sounds very much like another drug, Viox, was ultimately pulled from the market after being linked to thousands of deaths.

If by now you are starting to wonder why a drug with such a high risk has been placed back on the market, your in luck – follow the money and you’ll find the answer. During the quarter in which the news was released regarding the risks of heart related problems surrounding the use of Avandia worldwide sales of the drug dropped 22% and in the U.S. sales fell an even more to 31%. Now to get a real sense of what that means in terms of real money keep in mind that Avandia sales worldwide are in excess of 300 million dollars. Needless to say when sales drop by such large percentages there are loses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

There are countless cases in which products, especially drugs, are kept on the market when logic tells us that they should have long been pulled for the well being of the consumer. While this article has not even scratched the surface of this problem, rest assured that there is an overwhelming amount of data supporting the fact that money plays a very large role in the approval process of these products and as such logic is not always the determining factor.

With those details in mind why would the general public have any faith in the fact that a product that has been approved by the FDA is actually safe for use. Granted there are a lot of less than ethical companies that provide vitamins, minerals, and various supplements to the general public that would not stand up to any type of testing for numerous reasons. Many products simply do not contain all that they are listed to contain. In some cases the products simply do not contain the levels of all the nutrients that they claim to contain, others are missing components all together and lastly the manufacturing process of some supplements simply end in a product that your body can not completely utilize.
As such it would be much more advisable to find a reputable company that is grounded in science, stands behind their products and lastly has third party validation that their products provide what they claim to provide. With solid science and a reputable company providing validation of the products you are much more likely to have products that will provide you with the healthy lifestyle you expect well into your advancing years. With a little research on your own, recommendations from a knowledgeable colleague, or a medical professional that takes a holistic approach to healing versus expecting a government agency such as the FDA to watch out for you, you are far more likely to end up with good products.

References:

1) FDA Website

2) FTC Website

3) MSNBC:

4) MSNBC:

5) RTT News:

In an attempt to keep anyone from wasting their time reading an article that does not apply to them we need to clearly define the subject of this article. If you are comfortable with waiting for a miracle drug to cure cancer, expecting that early detection through any number of exams at your physicians’ office followed by chemotherapy in an attempt to kill the now detectable cancer cells, then this article is not for you. If however, you would prefer to avoid cancer totally by preventing it before it starts, then please read on.

When addressing nutrition and the prevention of cancer one of the hottest topics in this arena at this time are antioxidants. The primary reason that antioxidants have received increasing attention is based on the very nature of cancer cells themselves, how they are started and more importantly how they can be eliminated before becoming detectable. For most forms of cancer, they get their start when your cell’s DNA becomes damage in some form. Keep in mind that your body is generating new cells on a daily basis and that these new cells are being created based on the blue print of how they should be constructed. That blue print is your DNA. When your DNA has become damaged or during the creation process of these new cells they come in contact with free radicals they are damaged. Unchecked that damage begins going through an uncontrolled growth and at some point this once damaged cells has now become a tumor.

While there is a lot of talk about antioxidants we really need to define what they are. Antioxidants are substances that protect cells from the damage caused by molecules known as free radicals. Antioxidants are capable of stabilizing free radicals and therefore prevent some of the damage free radicals otherwise might cause. Free radicals are unstable molecules caused by incomplete electron shells which make them more chemically reactive than those with complete electron shells. There are a number of environmental factors, including tobacco smoke, over exposure to the sun, pollution, toxins in our water, pesticides used in the growing of our vegetables and various other factors can also lead to free radical formation. The most common form of free radicals is oxygen – that’s correct the simple act of breathing that is required to keep us alive is the most common cause of free radical production in our bodies. When oxygen molecules become electrically charged or “radicalized” it tries to steal electrons from other molecules, causing damage to the DNA and other molecules. Over time, such damage may become irreversible and lead to various diseases including cancer. Antioxidants are often described as “mopping up” free radicals, meaning they neutralize the electrical charge and prevent the free radical from taking electrons from other molecules. Some examples of common antioxidants include beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins C, E, and A, just to name a few. While not an antioxidant another very important mineral is Selenium, which is actually a component of antioxidant enzymes.

While diet and nutrition are beginning to get more attention we still have a long way to go, based on a number of statistics surrounding the average diet of more Americans. A simple search of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition will provide clinical research based on Diet, Nutrition and Cancer. While that may not be a big shock to you, you may be surprised to find that this particular entry has a copyright date from 1976. As a leading cause of death in the United States, one that is very preventable, one would expect to hear more about the impact of Diet, Nutrition and Exercise as it relates to the prevention of cancer. More often than not, if you pick up a newspaper or catch the news you are going to hear about the latest advances in chemotherapy, the newest drug for the treatment of cancer, the latest technology for improved mammograms and the list goes on. If you truly want to do something about the prevention of cancer you can’t wait on the news media and unfortunately not even your family physician to educate you on adopting a healthy lifestyle. Please don’t misunderstand that last comment as being a slam on doctors, because it is not. Every doctor that I know works extremely hard and puts in some very long hours.

Unfortunately, the way that our healthcare system is structured they do not get paid to educate you on a healthy lifestyle, nutrition, exercise or any of the things that you need to adopt as a comprehensive wellness program. The sad truth is that our healthcare system is setup to fix you after you’re broke, not to prevent you from getting to that point. It is truly up to YOU to take a proactive approach to learning what you need to know in order to adopt a overall healthy lifestyle/wellness program. It is important to note that a comprehensive wellness program leading to an overall healthy lifestyle is not something that you get to do for a week, a month or even just over the next year and then you’re done. This is a life long endeavor.

For those of you that are more of the do it yourself type people there are a large number of resources available to help you. From the internet to a staggering number of books that are published each year on the subject of healthy living, diet, nutrition, anti-aging. A very comprehensive guide to an overall healthy lifestyle that is very practical, pack with references to clinical research and an overall easy read is “The Metabolic Plan”, by Stephen Cherniske. The good news is that there is something for everyone. If you would prefer not to wade through mountains of information there are an increasing number of centers dedicated to Wellness, Healthy Lifestyles, and many of these facilities provide life coaches to help keep their clients accountable and on track. Even for the most dedicated person having an accountability partner of some type is a good idea to help during those stages of life where the motivation level just is not where it should be. Lastly, there are an increasing number of physicians that take a holistic approach to healing that includes a balanced approach which is one of the best approaches. In a perfect world our health would always be controllable through a balanced diet, good supplementation and exercise. However, the stark reality is that there are times that even our best efforts are not enough and we are forced to turn to a pharmaceutical to keep us in the game of life. In short all forms of healing have their place – there is not a one shoe fits all solution that will work for everyone, all the time.

Lastly, there are some well documented things that we can do to help prevent cancer.
- If you smoke – STOP
- Eating foods prepared with HIGH heat especially fried foods should be eliminated or reduced as much as possible.
- Increase the number of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Ideally 70% or more of your daily caloric intake should come from fruits and vegetables. If possible organically grown.
- Find a reputable supplements company grounded in science with products proven through strict clinical trials such as Univera LifeSciences. Even the best diet in the world is going to short on the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that we need in a comprehensive wellness/anti-aging program.
- Exercise – We were built by our maker to move. Keep moving and stay active. Does the term use it or loose it mean anything to you? The American Cancer Society has a great section on their website titled “The Complete Guide to Nutrition and Physical Activity”
- Reduce your exposure to chemicals and toxins. Use biodegradable products when cleaning as they are much less harmful to you and the environment.
- Reduce the fat in your diets, but increase the essential fatty acids that are required by each of us – especially your brain and your joints.
- If you are overweight and/or obese reduce your weight as this is a very well documented cause of accelerated free-radical activity.

References:
1) Diet, nutrition, and cancer: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 29, 1035-1047, Copyright © 1976 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc, EN Alcantara and EW Speckmann, http://www.ajcn.org/

2) Nutrition and Cancer Prevention: New Insights into the Role of Phytochemicals:  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 76, No. 1, 259, July 2002 © 2002 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

3) Nutrition and Activity Quiz: Are you living smart? - American Cancer Society

4) The Complete Guide— Nutrition and Physical Activity, American Cancer Society

5) Stephen Cherniske, M.S., The Metabolic Plan, The Random House Publishing Company, 2003, ISBN: 0-345-44102-8

For any of you that may have caught the news yesterday there was an amazing revelation that a single soda per day could lead to increased chance for heart disease. While it is good that something that is as common place as breathing, such as soft drinks and has so many potential health risks, is getting some negative press when will people really stop and listen.

We have for some time now known that there are a number of health risks associated with drinking soft drinks (soda), but with the fantastic marketing of the various manufacturers there has been a continual increase in the consumption of these drinks. To make mattes worse there are countless numbers of people that live with a soft drink of some time next to them throughout the entire day. There is little surprise that as a nation we are in the top rankings worldwide when it comes to being unhealthy – in the top 10. That ranking is based in large part because of the percentages of our population that are considered over weight and/or obese (65% +), are diabetic, malnourished, fighting arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, and anemic just to name a few.

For women a VERY big one is the fact that osteoporosis being a big concern is further exasperated by soft drinks.

While you may be thinking that you have dodged that bullet by drinking diet soft drinks think again. Much of the research, including the announcement yesterday, has found no distention between those drinking the diet soft drinks and those drink the sugar filled variety. If you are drinking more than a couple soft drinks per week please take some time to reconsider that habit and try replacing it with something to give your body the nourishment that it is screaming for. While an entirely different topic, but closely related, if you drink anything that is packed with sweeteners or sugar of any kind you really want to give your body a break. Your pancreas, adrenals, kidneys and liver to name a few would greatly appreciate it.

Carol Simontacchi
The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children
“One liter of an aspartame-sweetened beverage can produce about fifty-six milligrams of methanol. When several of these beverages are consumed in a short period of time (one day, perhaps), as much as two hundred fifty milligrams of methanol are dumped into the bloodstream, or thirty-two times the EPA limit.”
“What may happen, in the face of day-to-day, continuously high levels of sodium in the diet and the bloodstream, is that we experience a type of acute hypernatremia—not enough to kill us or cause the myelin sheath to lose its integrity, but enough to keep our sodium potassium pump slightly dysregulated and throw off the electrical system of the brain…. Americans drink soft drinks that are often loaded with more sodium and which further unbalance the mineral stores.”

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James A Howenstine M.D.
A Physician’s Guide to Natural Health Products That Work
“In an interesting experiment the sugar from one soft drink was able to damage the white blood cells’ ability to ingest and kill gonococcal bacteria for seven hours.”
“Soft drinks also contain large quantities of phosphorus, which when excreted pulls calcium out of the bones. Heavy users of soft drinks will have osteoporosis along with their damaged arteries.”

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James Duke PhD
The Green Pharmacy : The Ultimate Compendium Of Natural Remedies From The World’s Foremost Authority On Healing Herbs
“And watch out for cola soft drinks, which are very high in bone-dissolving phosphorus.”

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Marion Nestle
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (California Studies in Food and Culture)
“Soft drinks are the single greatest source of caffeine in children’s diets; a 12-ounce can of cola contains about 45 milligrams but the amounts in more potent soft drinks can exceed 100 milligrams— a level approaching that found in coffee.”
“Soft drinks have replaced milk in the diets of many American children as well as adults. School purchases reflect such trends. From 1985 to 1997, school districts decreased the amounts of milk they bought by nearly 30% and increased their purchases of carbonated sodas.”
“The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.”
“Adolescents who consume soft drinks display a risk of bone fractures three to four-fold higher than those who do not.”
“Sugar and acid in soft drinks so easily dissolve tooth enamel.”
“Americans drink 13.15 billion gallons of carbonated drinks every year.”

In doing some research on another article I came accross an article written by Dr. Henry Lodge called “You Can Stop Normal Aging”. As I have mentioned numerous times aging is a choice and we have the power to control that aging process. Below is further confermation of this truth as I have included Dr. Lodge’s article addressing the fact that aging really is a choice.

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By Dr. Henry S. Lodge
Published: March 18, 2007
Parade Magazine

From your body’s point of view, “normal” aging isn’t normal at all. It’s a choice you make by the way you live your life. The other choice is to tell your cells to grow—to build a strong, vibrant body and mind.

Let’s have a look at standard American aging. Barbara D. had a baby when she was 34, gave up exercise and gained 50 pounds. Exhausted and depressed, Barbara thought youth, energy and optimism were all in her rearview mirror. Jon M., 55, had fallen even farther down the slippery slope. He was stuck in the corporate world of stress, long hours and doughnuts. At 255 pounds, he had knees that hurt and a back that ached. He developed high blood pressure and eventually diabetes. Life was looking grim.

Jon and Barbara weren’t getting old; they had let their bodies decay. Most aging is just the dry rot we program into our cells by sedentary living, junk food and stress. Yes, we do have to get old, and ultimately we do have to die. But our bodies are designed to age slowly and remarkably well. Most of what we see and fear is decay, and decay is only one choice. Growth is the other.

After two years of misery, Barbara started exercising and is now in the best shape of her life. She just finished a sprint triathlon and, at 37, feels like she is 20. Jon started eating better and exercising too—slowly at first, but he stuck with it. He has since lost 50 pounds, the pain in his knees and back has disappeared, and his diabetes is gone. Today, Jon is 60 and living his life in the body of a healthy 30-year-old. He will die one day, but he is likely to live like a young man until he gets there.

The hard reality of our biology is that we are built to move. Exercise is the master signaling system that tells our cells to grow instead of fade. When we exercise, that process of growth spreads throughout every cell in our bodies, making us functionally younger. Not a little bit younger—a lot younger. True biological aging is a surprisingly slow and graceful process. You can live out your life in a powerful, healthy body if you are willing to put in the work.

Let’s take a step back to see how exercise works at the cellular level. Your body is made up of trillions of cells that live mostly for a few weeks or months, die and are replaced by new cells in an endless cycle. For example, your taste buds live only a few hours, white blood cells live 10 days, and your muscle cells live about three months. Even your bones dissolve and are replaced, over and over again. A few key stem cells in each organ and your brain cells are the only ones that stick around for the duration. All of your other cells are in a constant state of renewal.

You replace about 1% of your cells every day. That means 1% of your body is brand-new today, and you will get another 1% tomorrow. Think of it as getting a whole new body every three months. It’s not entirely accurate, but it’s pretty close. Viewed that way, you are walking around in a body that is brand-new since Christmas—new lungs, new liver, new muscles, new skin. Look down at your legs and realize  that you are going to have new ones by the Fourth of July. Whether that body is functionally younger or older is a choice you make by how you live.

You choose whether those new cells come in stronger or weaker. You choose whether they grow or decay each day from then on. Your cells don’t care which choice you make. They just follow the directions you send. Exercise, and your cells get stronger; sit down, and they decay.

This whole system evolved over billions of years out in nature, where all animals face two great cellular challenges: The first is to grow strong, fast and fit in the spring, when food abounds and there are calories to fuel hungry muscles, bones and brains. The second is to decay as fast as possible in the winter, when calories disappear and surviving starvation is the key to life. You would think that food is the controlling signal for this, but it’s not. Motion controls your system.

Though we’ve moved indoors and left that life behind, our cells still think we’re living out on the savannah, struggling to stay alive each day. There are no microwaves or supermarkets in nature. If you want to eat, you have to hunt or forage every single day. That movement is a signal that it’s time to grow. So, when you exercise, your muscles release specific substances that travel throughout your bloodstream, telling your cells to grow. Sedentary muscles, on the other hand, let out a steady trickle of chemicals that whisper to every cell to decay, day after day after day.

Men like Jon, who go from sedentary to fit, cut their risk of dying from a heart attack by 75% over five years. Women cut their risk by 80%—and heart attacks are the largest single killer of women. Both men and women can double their leg strength with three months of exercise, and most of us can double it again in another three months. This is true whether you’re in your 30s or your 90s. It’s not a miracle or a mystery. It’s your biology, and you’re in charge.

The other master signal to our cells—equal and, in some respects, even more important than exercise—is emotion. One of the most fascinating revelations of the last decade is that emotions change our cells through the same molecular pathways as exercise. Anger, stress and loneliness are signals for “starvation” and chronic danger. They “melt” our bodies as surely as sedentary living. Optimism, love and community trigger the process of growth, building our bodies, hearts and minds.

Men who have a heart attack and come home to a family are four times less likely to die of a second heart attack. Women battling heart disease or cancer do better in direct proportion to the number of close friends and relatives they have. Babies in the ICU who are touched more often are more likely to survive. Everywhere you look, you see the role of emotion in our biology. Like exercise, it’s a choice.

It’s hard to exercise every day. And with our busy lives, it’s even harder to find the time and energy to maintain relationships and build communities. But it’s worth it when you consider the alternative. Go for a walk or a run, and think about it. Deep in our cells, down at the level of molecular genetics, we are wired to exercise and to care. We’re beginning to wake up to that as a nation, but you might not want to wait. You might want to join Barbara, Jon and millions of others and change your life. Start today. Your cells are listening.

Dr. Henry S. Lodge is on the faculty of Columbia Medical School and is co-author of Younger Next Year.

References:

1) Parade Magazine: You Can Stop Normal Aging