“ALL EXPERIENCES ARE Proceeded BY MIND, HAVING MIND AS THEIR MASTER, CREATED BY MIND” not from Science of Mind, not from New Thought…It is from THE BUDDHA.
October in Red Rock Canyon.
Too Big of a Topic and conflicting opinion.
AHA: Life’s 7 Rules Plus 1.
Nevada in October is a great hiking month.
It was hot, like 95 to 105 hot, until October 22nd. On that day at 2pm the wind can from the south east in 35 to 65 miles an hour. The daytime high temperature went from 95 to 65 degrees and stayed there. What that means to a hiker is either a change for clothing or a change of environments. I changed from hiking in the higher altitudes of Mt. Charleston and Spring Mountain to lower altitudes of Red Rock Canyon, Calico Basin and Lake Mead. All these places are great hikes.
Mt. Charleston hike
Red Rock Canyon Hike
2.Bad Blog Topic: Toxin.
This blog ended up mostly on the bedroom floor. We all have heard about external environmental toxins. We all have heard about food toxins. The combination is killing us. It was going to be all about the Toxins that we live with while breathing, eating, and just being. You know, all the crap we deal with every day. It turned out to be too big of a topic and surprisingly controversial. When you have a little time, check out “The Plastic Ocean Movie” and learn about Estrogenic plastics. We are hurting ourselves.
So after all my research, check this out.
Lots of data and Science.
3. American Heart Association Life Essential 8
As I read lots of other peoples blogs, I look for supported facts. The blog “Health Secrets of a SuperAger” got my attention with a title “Sleep as a new measure of cardiovascular health. The blog directed me to Aha life’s 7 rules plus 1on the American Heart Association Website. Here are their 8 Essential:
This is not meant to be a book review, but a chance to impart some great information that we all need to know.
“Life expectancy of an American born today averages 78.2 years. But this year, over 70,000 Americans have reached their 100 birthday.”
Dan Buettner teamed up with National Geographic to find the world’s longest-lived people and study them. They found pockets of people around the world with the highest life expectancy, or with the highest proportions of people to reach age 100.
The 5 places are:
Barbagia region of Sardinia-mountainous highlands
Ikaria, Greece-Aegean Island
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Seventh Day Adventist-around Loma Linda, California
Okinawa, Japan-Island area.
They put together medical researchers, anthropologists,
Demographers, and epidemiologists to search for evidence-based common denominators. They found nine lifestyle and diet habits .
Here are Lifestyle habits:
1. Move Naturally.
“The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.”
How do I incorporate this into my life?
“Inconvenience Yourself”
“Have fun, Keep moving’
“Walk”
2. Purpose.
“The Okinawans call it ‘Ikigai’ and the Nicoyans call it ‘plan de vida;’for both it translates to ‘why I wake up in the morning.’ Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.”
In his book, The author says to take time to see the big picture. For me, I know some days are going to not be pain free. Having a purpose helps me push the pain and strain aside.
#3. Down shift
“Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.”
#4. 80% Rule
“‘Hara hachi bu’ -the Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the blue zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.”
#5. Plant Slant
“Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat–mostly pork–is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of a deck of cards.”
#6. Wine @ 5
“People in all blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.”
7. RIGHT TRIBE
The world’s longest-lived people are either born into or choose to create social circles that support healthy behaviors. Ikarians enjoy tight-knit communities that socialize frequently, while Okinawans build “moai” groups of five friends that commit to each other for life.
Research from the Framingham Studies shows that smoking, obesity, happiness and even loneliness are contagious. Assessing who you hang out with, and then proactively surrounding yourself with the right friends, will do more to add years to your life than just about anything else.
8. BELONG
All but five of the 263 centenarians interviewed in the original Blue Zones areas studies belonged to some faith-based community. Belong to a civic- or faith-based organization, since strong social relationships can add years to your life.
If you already belong to a group, great! If it’s been a while or you aren’t sure where to start, try asking friends and neighbors for their suggestions or search for additional information online.
9. LOVED ONES FIRST
Happy, healthy centenarians in the Blue Zones areas put their families first. This can take shape in many ways, from keeping your aging parents and grandparents in or near your home to being in a positive, committed relationship, which can add up to 6 years of life expectancy.
These are all from the Blue Zone website and you can check out more information there.
Nearly every health, fitness, nutrition, and supplement specialty article uses this quote from Hippocrates (460 B.C.-370 B.C.). “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”, but what does mean today? Do we ignore 2500 years of science and eat what grew in another time and place? I can not. Science and medicine have become essential for diagnoses and major repair or treatment of our body and mind. Modern Western medicine can isolate and produce the nutrients that can activate healing or repair but the very act of isolating nutrients disenfranchises the adjunct nutrients that are complimentary to healing and good health, plus these healing prescriptions all have adverse side effects. Our future health lies in prevention not treatment, I think. The foods we have access to today are not the same as those foods from 2500 years ago. Industrial commercial farming has provided us with plenty of food but not the ancient quality. It is a dilemma and we are all caught in it. We still have choices. I choose to eat the best I can based on my body and its needs. What good is a long life span if you don’t have a good health span?
My 10 Rules for Eating and Shopping.
THESE COME FROM LOTS OF RESOURCES. NOT A SINGLE ONE IS ORIGINAL. I HAVE LOST 60 POUNDS DOING THESE.
S.O.S- RESTRICT SALT, OILS, AND SUGAR.
G-BOMB- EAT GREENS, BEANS, ONIONS, MUSHROOMS, AND BERRIES.
S.S.S.- IF STUCK ON PLANNING OR TIME, GO TO SOUP, SALAD, OR SHAKE.
ORGANIC- CHOOSE ORGANIC FIRST.
CALORY RESTRICTION- ALL LONG LIVING PEOPLE EAT FEWER CALORIES.
LIMIT MEAT- BLUE ZONE COMMUNITIES LIMIT MEAT INTAKE. I’M AT 3.5 OZ. EVERY OTHER DAY.
LIMIT DAIRY- DAIRY IS FOR COWS; NOT FOR PEOPLE.
WHOLE GRAINS-THE LESS PROCESSING THE BETTER.
LIMIT PROCESSED AND ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS- THESE WERE ONCE GOOD-INTENTIONED CHEMISTRY PROJECTS. NOW THEY ARE POISON.
WATER IS ESSENTIAL- GET YOURS WHILE IT LASTS.
The Big Three to Unwrap First
If you want to get started with a lifestyle of health, talk to your doctor to be sure your body is okay to begin. Then download an App. myfitnesspal.com. Unwrap the plan for exercise, the plan for nutrition, and the plan for your spirit to de-stress. There is a free version of this app. You can watch a 2019 documentary called “HEAL“. I found a lot to think about in this film. There is a trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdNWn6BwU8s
Here is something you can fix with the your diet: Metabolic Syndrome.
WHAT IS METABOLIC SYNDROME?*
Doctors have long been interested in uncovering a connection between obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Metabolic syndrome, also known as Syndrome X or insulin resistance syndrome, emerged as a way to describe shared underlying characteristics.
METABOLIC SYNDROME SYMPTOMS
You may be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome if you have at least three of the five following conditions.
A large waist circumference: You have an “apple-shaped” body, or your waist circumference measures greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men.
High blood glucose (sugar): Your blood sugar measures 100 mg/dL or more, or you take medicine for high blood glucose.
Low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol: Your HDL levels are less than 40 mg/dL for men or less than 50 mg/dL for women.
High levels of triglycerides: Your triglyceride levels measure 150 mg/dL or more, or you take medicine for high triglycerides.
High blood pressure: Your blood pressure measures 130/85 mmHg or more, or you take medicine for hypertension.
RISK FACTORS
A variety of traits, conditions, and lifestyle behaviors put you at greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome. The following may occur on their own or in combination with other risk factors.
Excessive fat in and around the abdomen
Inactivity (less than the recommended 150 minutes per week of exercise)
Chemotherapy: Women treated with chemotherapy before or after breast cancer surgery are at a higher risk.
HOW DOES DIET AFFECT METABOLIC SYNDROME?
“Metabolic syndrome is certainly very much impacted by diet,” says Nicole Harkin, MD, FACC, founder of Whole Heart Cardiology. “The central component to it is weight gain which is often created by a combination of genetic factors, a sedentary lifestyle, and then dietary factors that really go into developing insulin resistance and a body weight that’s above ideal.”
A primary culprit, she says, is the standard American diet, which tends to be rich in highly processed foods.
A 2021 study published in Liver International investigated the connection between ultra-processed foods and metabolic syndrome. A total of 789 male and female participants (59 years old on average) received a food frequency questionnaire, an abdominal ultrasound, body measurements, blood pressure measurements, and fasting blood tests. Researchers found that eating more ultra-processed foods was associated with higher odds for metabolic syndrome and its components—hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL.
Another culprit, according to at least twostudies, is the high consumption of red meat and processed meats.
On the flip side, evidence shows that a whole-food, plant-based diet can play a protective role against metabolic syndrome. Not only is it low in saturated fat; it’s also high in fiber, which could be effective in the management of metabolic syndrome for its ability to control body weight through its effect on satiety (among other health benefits). And research indicates that eating greater quantities of fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome.
HOW TO REVERSE METABOLIC SYNDROME
“While [metabolic syndrome] might sound like a scary diagnosis, it’s definitely something that you can turn around with lifestyle changes,” says Harkin.
A healthy diet and regular exercise are keys to doing just that, according to a 2007 study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Researchers divided 335 metabolic syndrome patients aged 45 to 64 in northwest Italy into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group reduced saturated fat intake and increased polyunsaturated fat and fiber intake, along with exercise levels. After 12 months, researchers saw weight, waist circumference, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation), and most metabolic syndrome components decrease in the intervention group and increase in the control group.
“Getting an adequate amount of exercise is a great part of preventing and reversing metabolic syndrome,” says Harkin.
And it doesn’t need to be vigorous exercise, which may be especially challenging for overweight or more sedentary individuals. Instead, according to a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, even moderate exercise, such as walking about 12 miles per week, can sufficiently improve metabolic syndrome. Alternately, the American Heart Association recommends 30 to 60 minutes per day of moderate-intensity physical activity supplemented by two days per week of resistance training.
“If you lose somewhere between just 5–10% of your body weight, that can really improve your insulin sensitivity and reverse some of the cardiometabolic abnormalities that we see in association with metabolic syndrome,” says Harkin.
REAL-LIFE SUCCESS STORIES
By adopting a healthier lifestyle, it’s possible to avoid and even reverse metabolic syndrome and its risk factors. For inspiration, check out the following first-person testimonials from individuals who have—with the help of a whole-food, plant-based diet—done just that:
To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.
This is not meant to be a book review, but a chance to impart some great information that we all need to know.
“Life expectancy of an American born today averages 78.2 years. But this year, over 70,000 Americans have reached their 100 birthday.”
Dan Buettner teamed up with National Geographic to find the world’s longest-lived people and study them. They found pockets of people around the world with the highest life expectancy, or with the highest proportions of people to reach age 100.
The 5 places are:
Barbagia region of Sardinia-mountainous highlands
Ikaria, Greece-Aegean Island
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Seventh Day Adventist-around Loma Linda, California
Okinawa, Japan-Island area.
They put together medical researchers, anthropologists, Demographers, and epidemiologists to search for evidence-based common denominators. They found nine lifestyle and diet habits .
Here is the first Lifestyle habit:
#1. Move Naturally.
“The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.”
How do I incorporate this into my life?
“Inconvenience Yourself”
“Have fun, Keep moving’
“Walk”
#2. Purpose.
“The Okinawans call it ‘Ikigai’ and the Nicoyans call it ‘plan de vida;’for both it translates to ‘why I wake up in the morning.’ Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.”
In his book, The author says to take time to see the big picture. For me, I know some days are going to not be pain free. Having a purpose helps me push the pain and strain aside.
#3. Down shift
“Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.”
#4. 80% Rule
“‘Hara hachi bu’ -the Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the blue zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.”
#5. Plant Slant
“Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat–mostly pork–is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of a deck of cards.”
#6. Wine @ 5
“People in all blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.
#7. Belong
All but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.
#8. RIGHT TRIBE
The world’s longest-lived people are either born into or choose to create social circles that support healthy behaviors. Ikarians enjoy tight-knit communities that socialize frequently, while Okinawans build “moai” groups of five friends that commit to each other for life.
Research from the Framingham Studies shows that smoking, obesity, happiness and even loneliness are contagious. Assessing who you hang out with, and then proactively surrounding yourself with the right friends, will do more to add years to your life than just about anything else.
Blue Zone #9 is coming, the final lifestyle similarity in the next blog.
8 things Sleep Experts on the Mornings After a Poor Night Sleep.
Blue Zone Lifestyle habit #7.
Instant Garden
My stay at my daughters’ home in Colorado is a restorative 2 months for me. Her job does not give her time to garden and the northern Colorado growing season is short. Then enter the old coach (dad) from Las Vegas. I love to eat freshly picked stuff from the garden. It tastes better to me. A morning walk to the garden, pick a little kale, chard, and cherry tomatoes or radishes, and pop them in my mouth before any judgment of the day begins. They feel and taste healthy and energizing. We needed a garden. Joe, my daughter’s boyfriend, tilled a small area and added a layer of good dirt to improve the clay soil. We went to Bonnie Plants and got some bargains. It created an instant garden. Now I’m weeding, watering, and eating fresh produce. Thanks, Bonnie.
Instant Garden
I just finished reading “Plant over Processed” by Andrea Hannemann. She makes everything sound delicious. It’s a free book on my Amazon e-reader. Check it out.
July had lots of activities as a Summer Vacation should. On one of our nights, we went to the 100th Greeley Stampede. It was Championship Rodeo night and was great fun. The excitement, pageantry, and food smells were in the air. Unhealthy eating and drinking are part of the festivities. There is no healthy choice. I went for a smoked turkey leg and large water instead of the sugar-loaded funnel cake and a large soda.
Rodeo
Other activities had me golfing, camping, kayaking, and hiking. 10-mile hikes at 10,000 feet required me to draw on some physical reserves, but the scenery was spectacular. The camping was world-class. I was at Rocky Mountain Nation Park and Roosevelt and Arapahoe National Park. The Senior Nation Park Pass is a great benefit.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Poudre River
It is time to end my vacation and return to Las Vegas and teaching. I am so grateful to have had this time this year. Thank you to my daughter, granddaughter, and Joe. All my new Colorado friends, thank you for welcoming me.
Now some health business. I make some poor food choices after a bad night’s sleep. I did some research on this and found out that those poor choices are biological responses. They are designed in our DNA to preserve life. Here are 8 things Sleep Experts do in the morning after a poor night’s sleep. The information is quoted from Livestrong.com.
1. ‘Water First, Then Coffee’
Rather than reaching for the pot of coffee, fill up your water bottle first. Harris sips a glass of cold lemon water first thing in the morning. “The water helps to wake my system up, especially the cold temperature and lemon,” she says. “It’s refreshing.”
But don’t worry, coffee is still on the menu. If you’re a java drinker, sip your coffee after rehydrating with the water. “Coffee helps to give me more of a mental edge, and I find that it helps when I haven’t gotten enough sleep one night,” Harris explains.
However, she warns, don’t use it as a sleep substitute. In other words, you shouldn’t stay up and think that you can just down a lot of coffee the next day to stay alert.
2. ‘Get Your Butt Out of Bed’
For Rebecca Robbins, PhD, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, sleep is a consequence of what we do over the course of the day. The first step for good sleep at night: Get up on time in the morning.
“It’s tempting that when your alarm goes off, you want to hit the snooze. That’s wrong. The sleep you get after an alarm is poor quality,” she tells LIVESTRONG.com.
What’s more, you want to shuffle out of bed at the normal time. As Robbins explains, there’s a process called the homeostatic drive for sleep. “That means that over the course of the day, sleepiness builds like a clock. Each additional hour awake adds to that overall sense of sleepiness. Start that clock ticking,” she says.
3. ‘Prioritize’
After a bad night of sleep, it’s easy to catastrophize and think you’ll be a wreck all day and won’t be able to get anything done. And while you might not be on top of your game per usual, “data shows that one bad night isn’t the end of the world,” Seema Khosla, MD, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep in Fargo, tells LIVESTRONG.com.
Still, acknowledge that you might not be able to attend to everything on your list. “I know I don’t function as well when I’m tired, so then I prioritize what needs to be done. If it is something really important, I’ll leave that for another day when I’m sharper,” Dr. Khosla says.
4. ‘Seek Out Lots of Light’
One of the things you want to do to stop sleepiness after a poor night of zzzs? Get blue light exposure. Natural sunlight contains blue light.
“Getting this light into your eyeballs is one of the best ways to kickstart the awake phase of your circadian rhythm,” Robbins says.
If you work outside your house, you can get this by simply walking outside to your car or public transportation. If you WFH, go take your dog (or yourself) out for a morning walk. (Consider that your commute time.)
If you can’t get outside, then Robbins recommends cracking open a window at the very least to let in fresh air and sunlight.
5. ‘Schedule Some Light Exercise’
If you’re truly tired, then now might not be the time for a HIIT workout or one where you’re lifting heavy weights, as these may not be safe if you’re not alert. But it still pays to move your body.
“I make sure to exercise, but lightly. I’ll do a walk on the treadmill or easy yoga, but I do something to move, even if it wasn’t my planned hard run or weight-lifting session,” Harris says.
Besides, exercise has been shown to be good for sleep: Physical activity can improve sleep quality in people with insomnia, concluded a July 2018 meta-analysis in PeerJ.
6. ‘Find Time for a Cat Nap’
Good night or bad, you probably notice that your energy levels, alertness and focus dip after lunch. That’s not the time to reach for more coffee, which can make it harder to fall asleep later.
“The best strategy is to repay some of your sleep debt, and that’s with a five- to 20-minute nap,” Robbins says.
Set your alarm clock and lay in a comfortable place. If you can’t sleep or won’t fall asleep right away, that’s totally fine. “Any sleep you can get will be better than none,” she says.
Even closing your eyes and resting can help you feel more awake and ready to jump into the afternoon than if you simply tried to push through it. Plus, with this short power nap, you won’t wake up groggy.
7. ‘Make Healthy Food Choices’
When you’re tired, you’re pulled more toward unhealthy food choices — such as higher-sugar foods — which your body naturally gravitates to for a little pick-me-up.
“Keep an eye on your appetite,” Robbins says. “Research shows that it’s more difficult to figure out when you’re full [when you’re tired]. Overeating will impact your sleep because your body will have to work on digesting that food overnight,” she explains.
Be aware of sleep’s impact on your appetite and food choices throughout the day, but especially at dinner. Planning a healthy, light dinner — we’re talking half your plate of veggies, some lean protein, complex carbs and a bit of healthy fat — will encourage restful sleep.
And give yourself time to digest before going to bed. Eating within an hour of bedtime has been found to decrease sleep quality, notes a September 2016 review in Advances in Nutrition.
8. ‘Plan Out the Next Night’
Think about what went wrong last night, such as being on your phone before sleep or trying to fit in work before bed or waking up early to fit more in (all things Dr. Khosla says she’s done, so you’re not alone).
If possible, the next night, start your wind-down routine earlier, she advises. “No one is a perfect sleeper. Sometimes I just need to treat myself like I would treat any of my patients and extend myself a little grace. All of this allows me to reset,” Dr. Khosla says.
Her tried-and-true tips? Limit caffeine after lunch, avoid sunlight late in the day and put your phone away earlier so you can tuck in and get the rest you need.
Blue Zone Lesson # 7
The Blue Zones
9 Lessons For Living Longer
From the people who’ve lived the longest
by Dan Buettner
This is not meant to be a book review, but a chance to impart some great information that we all need to know.
“Life expectancy of an American born today averages 78.2 years. But this year, over 70,000 Americans have reached their 100 birthday.”
Dan Buettner teamed up with National Geographic to find the world’s longest-lived people and study them. They found pockets of people around the world with the highest life expectancy, or with the highest proportions of people to reach age 100.
The 5 places are:
Barbagia region of Sardinia-mountainous highlands
Ikaria, Greece-Aegean Island
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Seventh Day Adventist-around Loma Linda, California
Okinawa, Japan-Island area.
They put together medical researchers, anthropologists, Demographers, and epidemiologists to search for evidence-based common denominators. They found nine lifestyle and diet habits .
Here is the first Lifestyle habit:
1. Move Naturally.
“The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.”
How do I incorporate this into my life?
“Inconvenience Yourself”
“Have fun, Keep moving’
“Walk”
2. Purpose.
“The Okinawans call it ‘Ikigai’ and the Nicoyans call it ‘plan de vida;’for both it translates to ‘why I wake up in the morning.’ Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.”
In his book, The author says to take time to see the big picture. For me, I know some days are going to not be pain free. Having a purpose helps me push the pain and strain aside.
#3. Down shift
“Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.”
#4. 80% Rule
“‘Hara hachi bu’ -the Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the blue zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.”
#5. Plant Slant
“Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat–mostly pork–is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of a deck of cards.”
#6. Wine @ 5
“People in all blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.
#7. Belong
All but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.
That’s #7; there are 2 lessons to go and some discussion of each.
Colorado adventure, here is a tall glass of cool water..
Topic: Sky High and Trash Food.
Great link information and lesson #6
Annually, I have been traveling to my youngest daughter’s home in Pierce, Colorado for my summer break from teaching classes. It is a refreshing place. This year I had the added pleasure of my granddaughters’ high school graduation celebration. It was very well done. I can say that as I’ve seen a boat load of graduations in the past 50+ years. There is no way to tell what her journey through this life will entail but she is a good person and I wish her well.
Graduation was held at CSUGranddaughter
The drive was uneventful and I did the 900+ miles in one 12-hour sitting. The panoramic scenery was spectacular. June in northern Colorado is still fickle with warm sun and thunderous rain during the day. In fact, you can experience both by walking from the front to the back of her home almost any day. I have a fitness workout plan if I am “shelter in place” on any day, the basement. The basement is loaded with workout equipment. It is set up for any of the family to avoid cabin fever. Pierce, Colorado is in the northern part of the state just 45 miles from Cheyenne, Wyoming. We are at 5033 feet above sea level. It is a town with no stop light, none is needed for the 834 people living here. It is a real change from downtown Las Vegas. My summer plans include golfing, biking, hiking, and planning next school year’s lessons.
Backyard StormBasement
I would like to get the world to buy into a new way of thinking about eating. Remember food is medicine.
Here in Colorado, I visited a new fun place for kids, Urban Air. These kinds of places are opening everywhere, in every urban area. They have lots of names like Bounce House, Trampoline Time, and Sky High. This one is in Fort Collins, Co. They seem to be designed for kids about 6 to 14, but I really don’t know any age limits. The moms (mostly) bring their kids to play. They can bounce, climb, spin, ride stuff and have fun. The children naturally love the activity. There is an entrance fee and a waiver to sign and a break for mom. Here’s the catch, there is a snack bar full of bad habits and poison. It’s chicken (almost) strips, burgers and fries, cheap quality pizza, and sugary drinks. This is what is offered and this is what is sold and bought. Moms, it is time to demand better quality and healthier selection. What if they only offered healthy food? Your child would learn to eat right and learn good habits. I hear the rants from children already addicted to junk, but we can change these Standard American Diet (SAD) items to something much better and healthier (see the “Healthy Eating Hacks” below). Think about it, you are preventing disease in the next generation, your children.
This is not meant to be a book review, but a chance to impart some great information that we all need to know.
“Life expectancy of an American born today averages 78.2 years. But this year, over 70,000 Americans have reached their 100 birthday.”
Dan Buettner teamed up with National Geographic to find the world’s longest-lived people and study them. They found pockets of people around the world with the highest life expectancy, or with the highest proportions of people to reach age 100.
The 5 places are:
Barbagia region of Sardinia-mountainous highlands
Ikaria, Greece-Aegean Island
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Seventh Day Adventist-around Loma Linda, California
Okinawa, Japan-Island area.
They put together medical researchers, anthropologists, Demographers, and epidemiologists to search for evidence-based common denominators. They found nine lifestyle and diet habits .
Here is the first Lifestyle habit:
1. Move Naturally.
“The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.”
How do I incorporate this into my life?
“Inconvenience Yourself”
“Have fun, Keep moving’
“Walk”
2. Purpose.
“The Okinawans call it ‘Ikigai’ and the Nicoyans call it ‘plan de vida;’for both it translates to ‘why I wake up in the morning.’ Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.”
In his book, The author says to take time to see the big picture. For me, I know some days are going to not be pain free. Having a purpose helps me push the pain and strain aside.
#3. Down shift
“Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.”
#4. 80% Rule
“‘Hara hachi bu’ -the Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the blue zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.”
#5. Plant Slant
“Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat–mostly pork–is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of a deck of cards.”
#6. Wine @ 5
“People in all blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.”
That’s #6; there are 3 lessons to go.
Please remember: prevention is easier than treatment.
HEALTHY AT 120 