Rest & Relaxation

Have you ever wondered how to look younger without surgery?  Why do some people look so young for their chronological age while others look much older?

Read on for some very quick and effective tips on how to look younger.

Looking Younger Without Surgery

Is it all in their genes? Or could they live, think and feel differently and therefore look different? Why do sages or gurus like Jay Krishnamuti look half their age while others fast track their way to their graves with chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, cancer and finally early onset dementia?

Your Biological Age

Take a short lifestyle questionnaire and find out your biological age here:
The Heart Age Calculator

7 Steps to Look Younger Without Surgery

If you are not happy with your age and are committed to looking younger naturally, here are 7 health pillars to consider adding to your life to turn back the clock:

1. Ensure you have good quality sleep each night (what they say about beauty sleep is true)
2. Maintain a healthy weight to reduce your chances of developing insulin resistance and accompanying chronic diseases
3. Choose a healthy balanced diet each day – at least 3 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables
4. Engage in a daily relaxation exercise like meditation or yoga – cultivate a quiet mind, learn to still the mind and empty it at will.
5. Maintain good oral health by flossing, brushing and rinsing, your oral health is a reflection of your overall health status.  It is not an over statement when they say that your mouth is a mirror of your body.
6. Exercise at the moderate to high intensity level for at least 30minutes each day; aim to do this everyday, if not at least 5 days a week.
7. Development mindfulness and create a new level awareness around working, eating, exercising, sleeping and playing – the balanced mind is nimble, relaxed and alert; such a mental state does not happen by accident.  It takes years of discipline to create such a state everyday.

Now that you know how to look younger without surgery, the only thing left on your path to rejuvenation is to take the first step!  As the old adage goes, “Beginning is half done.”  Once you get started, half the battle is won.  No doubt, the rest is simple but still not easy.  However, the results will be well worth it.  You know you have done well when others seek your advice on how to look younger without surgery.

Apple Health Benefits

To answer this question, researchers from the Australian CSIRO have been reviewing the growing body of research that applies to health benefits of apples and the role they play in human health. In this post I summarise the key findings for you.

General Information

Nutritional Analysis

Apples are highly nutritious and a great source of fiber.
The peel of an apple has very high concentrations of anti-oxidants, with higher levels of antioxidant capacity generally found in darker, redder coloured apples. So do not peel your apples.

Another point of interest – According to principal component analysis, the lighter the colour of an apple’s flesh, the more nutritious it is.

Storage of Apples

Keep your apples in the fridge instead of the fruit bowl in order to retain their antioxidants and have them stay crisp for longer.

Specific Health Benefits of Apples

Heart Disease

There is ever increasing evidence of the role of fruits and vegetables (specifically including apples) on protecting you from cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke.

Cholesterol

Apples have been shown to have a cholesterol lowering effect. In one study the researchers found that eating three apples resulted in the reduction of the cholesterol level of about 5-8%.
Incidentally, the consumption of apple juice showed no such effect. So skip the juice and get the real thing – you know, an apple a day…

Weight Loss

Consuming whole fruits has been shown to produce a more positive effect on satiety than the same energy from juice or puree.
In fact, a study found that the energy level from fruits, independent of the firbe amount may reduce energy consumption and body weight over time.
Research further suggests that the polyphenols found in apples may regulate the fat metabolism in healthy people with relatively high body mass index (BMI).

Type 2 Diabetes

A large study of nearly 38,000 women over nine years found that women who were consuming one apple a day had a 28% reduction in their risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to women who consumed no apples.
Apples also have a low GI (Glycaemic Index), in the range of 28-44, which may be a contributing factor to the prevention of diabetes.

Allergy

You guessed it – apples have been linked to reducing the incidence of atopic dermatitis. The health benefits of apples include that they may alleviate some of the symptoms of respiratory allergy such as sneezing.

Asthma

Your good apples have been reported to be associated with lower incidence of asthma and bronchial hyperactivity.
In fact, a related study found that pregnant women who consume apples (and fish) may provide their unborn babies protection against developing childhood asthma and allergic diseases.

Health Benefits of Apples for Cancer

While the evidence for the role of fruit and vegetables in generally reducing cancer risk is not as strong as it once appeared, this does not rule out the significant potential for specific fruits and vegetables.
Laboratory cell-based studies have shown that apple peel extract possesses strong anti-proliferative effects against cancer cells. So, make sure you do not peel your apples.

There is particularly strong evidence for the consumption of apples in preventing mouth, oesophagus, lung and stomach cancers.

So in conclusion, an apple a day will not just keep your doctor away, but also a multitude of specialists, surgeons, drug companies and intensive care units. Please do yourself a favour and consider having an apple today, and every day following – because the health benefits of apples are too great to ignore.

Insomnia is the most common of all sleep disorders. This is followed by obstructive sleep apnoea – a condition in which breathing stops for 30 to 120 seconds intermittently during the night impairing a person’s day time functioning.  The third most common sleep disorder is restless leg syndrome.

Overall, insomnia represents 8/10 sleep disorders managed in clinical settings. Untreated insomnia can lead to depression, stroke and even heart attack.

Medication as Sleep Remedies

The table below shows common sleep medications prescribed for treating insomnia (figures from the Australian Family Physician Vol 38, No.5, May 2009):

The above table shows that an alarming 95.2% of doctors treat insomnia with bensodiazapines. “Benzos” are addictive. We need higher and higher doses to get the same effect. Long term use can literally turn us into “drug addicts”.  “Benzos” withdrawal have been known to occur in individuals taking these drugs on a regular basis for as short a duration as 2 weeks!

Common bensodiazapines withdrawal symptoms are:

1. Insomnia (how very nice!)
2. Anxiety
3. Irritability
4. Restlessness
5. Agitation
6. Depression
7. Tremor
8. Dizziness
9. Headache

Managing addiction and withdrawal can be very difficult.  To avoid being caught in this vicious cycle, other methods of managing insomnia should be explored.

Natural Sleep Remedies

Following are the main remedies that I recommend to my clients.

• Learn to wind down with relaxation and meditation before bed time. Yoga can be very effective, meditation or relaxation hypnosis.
• Have a cup of Valerian tea/warm milk to soothe your nerves.
• Take 150mg of melatonin supplement. Melatonin is a substance naturally produced by our body to induce sleep. As we get older, we produce less and less of it. Therefore supplementation can be an effective sleep remedy. Best of all, it is natural and non-addictive.
• Try sleep hypnosis to train your body to relax and sleep when you go to bed. Below is the one that I recommend to my clients – many of them have reported success with this inexpensive hypnosis session. Best of all the company producing it offers a 90-day money back guarantee:
  

Also some general tips:

• Take the TV (and computer) out of the bedroom!
• Establish a routine of when to go to bed and when to get up and stick to it.
• Ensure the bedroom is as dark as possible – perhaps use some sleep/eye shades.

Finding What Works For You

As with all things concerning the human body, there usually is no one answer that works for everyone. However, you should be able to find a combination of these sleep remedies that works for you. I hope you will wake up each day feeling fully rested and refreshed.

We may have far more control over the rate and extent of the aging process than we previously thought. Healthy dietary habits and physical activity repeated over a lifetime can help us reap health dividends beyond our imagination. Find out about healthy aging.

Our immune system is like a dormant volcano, when it is quiet, it is all lush, green and peaceful.  But when it is active, it ruptures and wreaks great havoc carving a path of wonton destruction everywhere.  An over-active immune system may present in any of the following ways e.g. asthma, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, allergies, lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves disease, fibromyalgia and Crohn’s disease just to name a few. 

Note that all these illnesses are characterised by one thing – over-active immune systems attacking our very own healthy tissues giving rise to sometimes fatal disease states, causing premature aging.  Remarkably, it is almost like we “try to kill ourselves and implode”!

So, why do our immune systems specifically produce antibodies to actively seek out and destroy the tissues they were supposed to protect?  If you can answer this question you have the key to reversing the aging process!

Reversing the Aging Process

According to Dr. Mark Liponis, all the latest scientific research seem to point to the fact that soothing your immune system or living in harmony with it provides the best answer to reversing the aging process.  And the way to do that is to ensure that you practice the pillars for healthy living every single day of your life:

1. Maintain a healthy weight
2. Maintain healthy teeth and gums, floss, rinse and brush your teeth thoroughly everyday
3. Remove all potential allergens from the environment and your diet as they induce inflammation
4. Eliminate inflammatory processed foods that are nutrient-poor and energy-rich
5. Have a generous serve of anti-inflammatory foods and probiotics (good bacteria from foods like yoghurt) 3 times a day, consider taking an antioxidant supplement to boost your circulating antioxidants
6. Take 1 hour out to relax (meditation, tai chi, yoga, deep breathing exercise)
7. Laugh often (laughter is the best medicine)
8. Get sufficient sleep and preferably be in harmony with the circadian rhythm
9. Exercise (resistance training, stretching and endurance)
10. Love with all your heart (negative emotions lead to hostile immune systems)

The tables below list the food items in order of decreasing density of each nutrient:

In conclusion, for great nutrient-dense plant sources of omega 6, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin E, have a couple of handfuls of walnuts, sunflower seeds and almonds daily!

References

Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging (Aust), Ministry of Health (NZ) and National Health and Medical Research Council.  Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand. 2006.

Shrapnel B, Baghurst K. Adequacy of essential fatty acid, vitamin D and vitamin E intake: implications for the ‘core’ and ‘extras’ food group concept of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. 2007; 64: 7885.

Shrapnel B.  The importance of nutrient density in implementing recommendations for fats.  Nutr Diet 2007; 64(Suppl.1): S40.

Research by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that since the late 1980’s life expectancy has increased by 6 years for men and 4 years for women, with men living until 79 while women until 83.7 years. This is good news indeed!  Unfortunately this does not mean we are healthier than previous generations!  Quite on the contrary, we are actually just sick for longer.  That was the message during the Australian Lifestyle Medicine Association Conference held in Sydney last month.
They say Australia is the lucky country.  However, the fact remains that despite a decade of unprecedented wealth, limitless choices, advanced healthcare, we are not as “well” as we should be.  We are staring down the barrel of a chronic disease crisis of unprecedented proportion.  Obesity, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer are leading causes of preventable death.
To date, the health impact of overweight and obesity are yet to be experienced in this country.  Our current health infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle the fast rising “tsunami”.  So what should we do about this burgeoning problem?  The answer is not to have more doctors to meet the needs of a rapidly ailing population.  Instead, we have to take responsibility for our health.  The onus is on each of us to make sure we keep as healthy as possible by making life-enhancing lifestyle changes.
Did you know that during World War II, health improved in the general population in England?  This was because the English were forced to a basic daily diet of wholemeal bread, potatoes and home-grown vegetables.  Eggs, milk, butter, salt, sugar and meat were strictly rationed.  Food restrictions actually brought on unexpected health improvement!
During the Australian Lifestyle Medicine Conference, Professor Garry Egger echoed the same view when he spoke about the inverse relationship between the state of the economy and population health. He showed a graph depicting predictable improved state of health with each economic crisis over the last century.  It is ironic that improved economic conditions is consistent with bad health outcomes.  This is a clear sign that we are victims of excesses or “the good life”.
What do you think?  What active steps are you taking to improve your state of health?

NB: Professor Egger is also the Director, Centre for Health Promotion and Research, Sydney, and author of ‘Health, ‘ill-th’ and economic growth: Medicine, environment and economics at the cross-roads’, a soon-to-be published paper in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Foods containing pungent flavour are often rich in sulphur content. These foods not only are great mould deterrents, they also play vital roles in DNA repairs. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, garlic and onions are sulphur rich and powerful inducers of protective enzymes like superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. They are also high in indoles and can inhibit colorectal, bladder, lung, mouth, throat, stomach and breast cancers.

Cruciferous vegetable are particularly rich in isothiocynates.  Isothiocyanates have amazing anti-aging properties; this is because they are potent inhibitors of enzymes that promote glycation.  Glycation occurs when oxidation of sugars coating the surface of proteins like collagen result in the formation of Advanced Glycated Endproducts – AGEs. As the name implies, AGEs literally cause premature aging with the formation of saggy, wrinkly skin.  Note that any external signs of aging are accompanied by the aging of  internal organs as well.  The external and internal are never mutually exclusive. 

This aging process is even more pronounced in diabetics as AGEs form more quickly with elevated blood sugar levels.  It is not uncommon for a diabetic diagnosed at the age of 30 to have a physiological age of 75 by the time they reach the chronological age of 60.  It is a well-known fact that accelerated aging comes with poorly controlled blood sugar levels.  Hence, to reduce age-related cell damage, diabetics should tuck into large quantities of these vegetables to decelerate the glycation process and its accompanying premature aging.
In conclusion, these vegetables protect you from DNA damage, stimulate cancer cell death (cell apoptosis) and keep you looking and feeling young. Why would you not eat heaps more of them daily?