Glutathione: Power Antioxidant

Glutathione is the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier and maestro of immunity. GOOD NEWS, our body produces it. BAD NEWS, when the body becomes overloaded with toxins, it switches off the gene that allows for Glutathione to be created and recycled within the body.

Nearly every person who suffers from chronicfatigue syndrome, heartdisease, cancer, chronicinfections, autoimmune disease, diabetes, autism, Alzheimer‘s disease, Parkinson‘s disease, arthritis, asthma, kidney, liver disease and more is missing the functional ability of the GSTM1 gene.

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Sip Away Stress

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The way to banish stress may be a sip away. Green tea is rich in catechins, an antioxidant compound, and contains high levels of EGCG, a polyphenol that has been previously found to reduce levels of oxidizing compounds that contribute to physical and mental fatigue. Tohoku University (Japan) researchers analyzed data relating to tea consumption, psychological distress, and lifestyle factors collected on 42,093 Japanese men and women, ages 40 years and older. The team determined that those subjects who drank five cups of green tea daily reduced their levels of psychological distress by 20%.

A popular beverage worldwide, green tea may help to alleviate mental stress and may promote psychological well-being. To ensure maximum antioxidant potency, be sure your green tea leaves are fresh, and preferably — organically grown.

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Your Daily Detox

If you wake up feeling tired, sore and generally puffy, you may want to try adding a Liver Support supplement to your daily routine. The liver plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, hormone production, and detoxification. In a nutshell, this organ controls how you produce, store or burn fat and calories.

Beyond eating healthy and staying physically fit, supplements can aid your body in detoxification, so your organs don’t have to work so hard to get rid of the fat and toxins in your blood. My favorite supplement in this category is the NOW foods brand Liver Detoxifier and Regenerator.

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Body On Fire

The immune system is supposed to be our greatest defense in defending against pathogens and rebuilding damaged tissue. Without it, your cold would win and your sore back would never heal. Chronic inflammation, brought on by an immune system in overdrive, could lead to illnesses including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Inflammation-signaling cells or C-reactive proteins (CRP), is a molecule released by the liver as part of the immune response. These levels should go back to normal levels after defending the body, but instead hang out in the blood. What keeps the battle going? Recurring irritants, such as cigarette smoke, for one. Or, as we now know, carrying too much extra weight, or simply getting older.

The efficiency with which your liver detoxes your blood and circulation are two huge contributing factors to your CRP levels.

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Core Cleanse

Gwyneth Paltrow does it. 21 days of cleanse before her filming. So when my clients are looking for a magic bullet, I talk about diet and exercise. The best sustained weight loss comes from gradual reductions in fat and calories from your diet, but there is a quick sure fire way to boost your metabolism and drop weight quickly before an event.

Enter the Core Cleanse. A 7 day all veggie and water diet, this cleanse optimizes your bodies ability to absorb precious vitamins and minerals, boost your metabolism and use calories efficiently. It starts with 16oz of green tea with honey and cayenne in the morning, a large lunch from an approved list of veggies and a dinner shake, all totaling 1200 calories. This goes on for 7 days and many people don’t have the ability to finish it, but if you can muster through it, you will drop weight and look ridiculously slim.

During the cleanse, it’s best not to ramp up your exercise routine. You want to go easy on yourself since you are taking in less calories than usual.

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Movember: Sex, Food, Exercise

Sex. When I write about sex, I get 25k hits. So you can imagine that I’m all for Movember–the month we focus on Men’s Health–mostly because we get to talk about sex and your prostate.But I’m also here to share the top 3 ways you can reduce your risk. Yes, we’ll talk about sex first…..

1) Ejaculation. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests ejaculation, through sexual intercourse or masturbation, can reduce your risk of prostate cancer and can keep your prostate in check. But not just any kind of sex or masturbation;

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Clock Work: The Perfect Fit Day

If you spend an hour a day at the gym and 23 hours dedicated to undoing all that good, you haven’t really made any leeway in the general direction of health. Consider this, the more you indulge your body in the little healthy maneuvers, the easier it will be at the gym. Check out The Perfect Fit Day and try your hand at a little clock work.

8am: Get 8 hours of sleep! Seriously. No I am not kidding. Sleep is one of the most under-utilized methods in training, mostly because you think you are some kind of robot that doesn’t need it. But guess what? Sleep is integral to reducing stress, losing weight and recuperating from the beating you gave your bod the day before.

8:30am: Have breakfast! A big one. Your diet should actually flow the opposite way you are probably used to; biggest meal is brekkie, lunch is second, dinner should be an afterthought. It preps your body for optimal calorie expenditure. Along with breakfast have a cup of coffee–the caffeine jolt amps up your metabolism.

9am: Don’t hang out by the coffee maker chatting, head over to the H20. Ideally you should be drinking half your body weight in ounces of water. Water flushes your system of toxins and hydrates you so you have more energy and as a bonus, you’ll feel more full.

11am: Get up and stretch for a minute. Stretching increases circulation in your body, allowing it to repair itself. Also, drink more H20!

12pm: Lunch! Make sure it’s healthy–something full of good fats (grilled salmon) and antioxidants (spinach). Your midday meal is when you should be taking in lots of leafy greens and bright colored veggies. And don’t wash it down with an alcoholic drink–opt for more H20.

3pm: More stretching and physical activity. Most people are the most productive during the stretch from lunch to 3pm, but this is prime time for your body to digest and utilize those cals. If you are on a roll with whatever you are doing, be a good example to those around you and make sure to get up every 30 minutes or so and stretch/move around a bit.

6pm: If you haven’t already worked out in the morning, this is your last opportunity to get a good 30-60min of physical activity in. I suggest working out in the morning is probably the best time to burn some energy, but anytime you can find the time to be physically active is the right way to judge what’s best for you. Try sprinting on the treadmill, pushups, crunches, planks, lunges, step ups, presses, and squats. These are all exercises that will keep your whole body injury-free.

 

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Anti-Aging=Lycopene

Instead of going to Neiman’s and spending $200 on La Mer, consider eating The Perfect Fall Lunch: tandoori tomato soup with fresh cilantro. Great skin is born from the inside out. Lycopene–found in tomatoes–is 100x more potent than vitamin E at reversing cellular damage. And with all that paddle boarding, running and riding you did this summer, your skin is going to need all the help it can get.

“The Perfect Fall Lunch”

Tandoori Tomato Soup with Fresh Cilantro

Heat: 2 cups Trader Joe’s Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Add: 1 tbsp Tandoori Spice or more if you like spicy!

And…..Fresh Cilantro to taste

 

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Want this body? Eat This Food.

As I was thinking about the weekend, the first thing that pops to mind is the bachelorette party and that little dress I have to wear this weekend. To make my body look great I always follow this diet secret:

Watermelon. This week I ate an entire watermelon (which made up for 2-3 midweek meals from tues-thurs). I simply followed a clean diet (protein, veggies and light whole carbs) and then substitute 2-3 of my meals with watermelon. Usually my lunch and afternoon snack. It slims you down quickly because it’s mostly water and simple carbs packed into the fiber of the fruit. This means it regulates your blood sugar and metabolism really efficiently and the water and antioxidants protect against free radicals, aiding in reducing inflammation and making your skin look luminous.

Sweet, juicy watermelon is actually packed with some of the most important antioxidants in nature. Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A, notably through its concentration of beta-carotene. Pink watermelon is also a source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene. These powerful antioxidants travel through the body neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are substances in the body that can cause a great deal of damage. They are able to oxidize cholesterol, making it stick to blood vessel walls, where it can lead to heart attack or stroke. They can add to the severity of asthma attacks by causing airways to clamp down and close. They can increase the inflammation that occurs in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and cause most of the joint damage that occurs in these conditions, and they can damage cells lining the colon, turning them into cancer cells. Fortunately, vitamin C and beta-carotene are very good at getting rid of these harmful molecules and can therefore prevent the damage they would otherwise cause. As a matter of fact, high intakes of vitamin C and beta-carotene have been shown in a number of scientific studies to reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce the airway spasm that occurs in asthma, reduce the risk of colon cancer, and alleviate some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.A cup of watermelon provides 21% of the daily value for vitamin C, and, through its carotenoids, 17% of the DV for vitamin A.

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