Detox - Minerals and marco nutrients:Potasium, Magnesium, Chronimum, Zink

It is time to discuss the critical nutrients and minerals, and why simetimes they have to be supplemented.

Macro nutrients,  ( the nutrients that our body needs in large quantities),  are:

1. protein,

2. carbohydrates,

3. (good) fats.

Most vitamins fall into the category of MICRO nutrients. However, there is one category of vitamins that belongs to MARCO category of nutrients. People living in industrialized nations like ours do not receive enough of those vitamins in their daily diets, because the nutrients are very sensitive to the FOOD PROCESSING and they are so volatile that very few survive the harvesting, storage, and processing.

Those nutrients are the building blocks that make up the body's tissues--the skin, bone, tendons, cartilage, and muscle. They are:

• Vitamin C
• MSM (organic sulfur compound)
• Phytochemicals (veggies, herbs and nuts)

Those listed above are  in all our fruits and vegetables, but they're volatile, so they rapidly begin to deteriorate when the foods are picked. Many are lost during transportation and storage, and more are lost during processing. And in the case of phytochemicals (will be listed below), most are formed in the final stages of ripening--so foods that are picked green tend to be deficient.

1.      We discussed Vitamin C in my earlier postings. I will not spend much time on that. Please consider to supplement your diet with the vitamin C purchased from the reputable company.

2.      MSM (organic sulfur compound): DETOX: MSM enables your cells and tissues to release toxins that have built up over the years. Sulfur is a vital part of our waste management system. If you take too much MSM, your body will release too much waste at one time for your kidneys and liver to handle. This waste in your blood stream can cause all kinds of problems ranging from flu-like symptoms. For example, heavy caffeine users may feel extra jittery. The key to reducing or eliminating detox symptoms is to start on MSM SLOWLY so that the waste in your tissues is released slowly and to drink lots of water so that the released toxins will be flushed out of your body quickly. 

Be sure to increase your water intake - for most people this would be double the amount of water that they normally drink. Take baths with water hot enough to make you sweat, but not so hot that you might pass out. Limit the baths to 20 minutes in length. You may find it helpful to add ONE of the following to the bath water and alternating between these for different baths: a cup of vinegar or a cup of baking soda or a cup of epsom salt. These substances each help leach out different toxins through your skin.

Doses:   It is recommended to start with between 500 mg daily. Take 500 mg about one week and rise to 1000 mg for another week. Continue 3 more weeks and start adding 500 mg to your daily dose each week, until you are taking 10 gr. daily. This will make up for the years of deficiency that your body has experienced. After a week of 10 mg daily, reduce the amount to the maintenance level, which is between 1 and 2 teaspoons (4000 to 8000 mg) per day. Always drink LOTS of water , twice of daily recommended 70 OZ. , when starting on MSM .

3.      Phytochemicals in food : Many, if not most, phytochemicals are formed in the late stages of ripening. They give the fruits and vegetables their color. Since they deteriorate quickly, the only way to get them from the food supply is to eat foods right off the vine. That's one reason that a home-grown garden is such a good idea.

Lacking the ability to eat off the vine, the next best thing is the supplements made from foods that are preserved immediately after they're harvested. You should (still) attempt to include organic and fresh veggie/fruits in your daily diet. Each season, I am searching for a local access to a fresh garden or the food market that supplies good quality fresh produce.

The following list of vital phytochemicals is JUST FEW that are present in commonly consumed foods, so choosing best suppliers that you trust , that pick ripe fruit instead of harvesting them early and let them ripen during the transport instead of the sunlight:

Check out the brand called --Food For Life—for pasta and gain-based products.

a.       Apiole – parsley.

b.      Carnosol – rosemary.

c.       Carvacrol – oregano, thyme.

d.      Dillapiole – dill.

e.       Flavonoids (polyphenols) – red, blue, purple pigments.

f.       Quercetin – red and yellow onions, tea, wine, apples, cranberries, buckwheat, beans.

g.      Gingerole – ginger.

h.      Kaempferol – strawberries, gooseberries, cranberries, peas, brassicates, chives.

i.        Myricetin – grapes, walnuts.

j.        Rutin – citrus fruits, buckwheat, parsley, tomato, apricot, rhubarb, tea, pagoda tree fruits.

k.      Naringenin – citrus fruits.

l.        Silybin – blessed milk thistle.

m.    Apigenin – chamomile, celery, parsley.

n.      Catechins –tea, grapes, wine, apple juice, cocoa, lentils, black-eyed peas.

o.      Peonidin –blueberry, cherry, cranberry, peach.

p.      Cyanidin – red apple & pear, bilberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, peach, plum, hawthorn, loganberry, cocoa.

q.      Daidzein (formononetin) – soy, alfalfa sprouts, red clover, chickpeas, peanuts, other legumes.

r.        Ellagic acid – walnuts, strawberries, cranberries, blackberries, guava, grapes.

s.       Tyrosol – olive oil

t.        Punicalagins – pomegranates

u.      Alkylresorcinols – wholegrain wheat, rye and barley

Minerals:

In addition to the macro nutrients, there are several minerals that need to be supplemented, given the American food supply:

• Chromium
• Selenium
• Zinc
• Magnesium/Potassium

Chromium is needed to activate insulin, which metabolizes sugar. Chromium is deficient in most U.S. soils. So depending on how much sugar you eat, you may need to supplement this mineral.

Selenium is also deficient in the majority of U.S. soils. But it's very important, because it's needed to create glutathione peroxidase. Glutathione peroxidase reconstitutes Vitamin C after it breaks down--especially in the eyes.

Zinc plays an important role in the immune system, protecting the body against colds and infections.

Magnesium and Potassium: These nutrients generally come together in a single supplement. Magnesium is needed to absorb calcium, and it's also important for the operation of the immune system. Magnesium is known as a "muscle relaxer". It's found in whole grains, but it's refined out when the flour is processed, and it's not added back when the flour is "enriched".

Potassium deficiency has been implicated in arthritis and inflammation. Natural foods have more potassium than sodium, but most of the processed foods we eat have the reverse ratio, which creates a potassium imbalance.

Related articles:

• The Basis of Nutritional Healing: Why it's Effective, When it's Effective
• What is MSM?

• Arthritis Treatment by Potassium

Books:

• Colgan, Michael. Optimal Sports Nutrition: Your Competitive Edge. Advanced Research Press, New York, 1993.

Weight loss : Fat-Burning-Zone

Old subjects remain the most discussed and mismanaged matters: Carbs.  And, Fat-Burning Zone.

From what I personally learned and experienced, I would say that regardless of whether you're trying to lose weight or not, the 50 % of your daily calories should come from carbohydrates.

It appears to be a common misconception that carbs are everyone’s enemy. I believe the amount of calories we eat and the processed foods are the two main problems that exist in today’s world.  

We were told that it has been proven that the diets that restrict any major food group, (like carbs), won't result in long-term weight loss success. However, many people still go that route. Why? Well, some manage to get fast results. But, is it sustainable? Is it healthy? Will it lead to a happy and energetic daily life?

 In addition to being the body's preferred source of energy, foods that are rich in carbohydrates contain several essential nutrients that are important for nutritional health and disease prevention.

Some people tell me they are trying to avoid carbohydrates because "carbs make you fat." Oh yes, I agree:  too many carbs in your diet can make you fat; especially simple carbs.  But the key words are “too many” and “simple”. Carbs can make you fat but so as protein, fat or alcohol. Actually, the so-called “good carbs” - fruits, vegetables and whole grains - can help you lose weight, because they fill you up on relatively few calories. For instance, for 35 calories you can have five cups of fresh spinach or just one teaspoon of butter. And think how much more filling a cup of oatmeal is compared to 2 little sugar cookies; both have about 140 calories.

Wholesome carbohydrate foods like fruits, vegetables, wholegrain, and legumes supply fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Low-fat dairy foods, like Kefir and yogurt, are rich in carbohydrates and also are important sources of calcium, vitamin D, zinc, and protein, and probiotics.

Doctors, fitness trainers and dietitians encourage a balanced diet based on a variety of nutrient-dense foods from all the basic food groups.

So, my main goal in this letter is to remind everyone: Know your servings!  I just finished reading a book written by a yogi Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009) who explained yogi’s rules in terms of food intake. The guidelines are : ½ of the stomach should be filled with food, ¼ with water and ¼ of the stomach should remain empty.  Putting that simply:  we should not over indulge in food and we need to drink plenty of water.

With that in mind,  here are the examples of good carbs and single time servings:

1/2 cup of Beans (such as black beans, pinto beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, lentils). NOT BAKED CANNED BEANS.

1/3 cup cooked or canned brown or wild rice

1/3 cup cooked Bulgur wheat

1/2 cup cooked whole grain

1/2 cup of corn (or 5-inch-long ear)

1/2 medium sweet potatoes

7-inch Whole-grain bread (one slice ) with at least 2 grams fiber

If you're a woman looking to lose weight, you can have about five servings daily. Men who need to cut back on calories can have six servings.

We can have more than one serving at a meal. However, the trick is not to overeat in that single meal. Try to eat 5 times a day and eat carbs and protein, please. Do not single out one.

Now, quickly on the subject of Fat Burning Zone . Is it a myth? 

When people talk about the fat burning zone, they refer to the heart rate. According to the chart, my fat burning zone is between 144 and 155/ minute.

Many fitness specialist or doctors do not give us a  “black & white”  answer to the question, but primarily they  say: yes, it is a myth. Technically, the charts you see on exercise machines are correct: With a low heart rate, your body likes to fuel activity by using body fat.  Yes, we have a (low) energy zone where the body uses mostly fat for fuel. That fat-burning usually occurs when you are sleeping. When you work harder and your heart rate climbs, your body prefers the quicker energy, carbohydrates (stored within our muscles). However, when you increase your heart rate you use up more calories per minute -- that's what melts pounds -- when your heart rate is high.  Thus, any fitness trainer will tell you to intensity and keep that heart rate high; burn calories.  Let’s be careful, though. Check with your doctor first, and if you got your  OK,  go as fast as you can for at least a minute every 10 minutes during your work out.

Therefore, the more calories you can burn in the time you have to exercise, the better. So don't get stuck in the myth that less intense exercise or activity burns more fat, because it really doesn't. You will burn more calories doing higher intensity activity - and as a result burn more overall fat.

With that, we will continue enjoying series of Sun Salutations in our group practices followed by holding other yoga poses that will benefit our body by purifying it and giving us that flexibility that we all are craving for!

YOGA POSES - Upward Facing Dog

Yoga practices will help you to be able to sit and stand straighter. It will help you to increase the motion range and enhance muscle appearance. And finally, it will calm your mind and will help you focusing.

As illustrated in the picture below from The Yoga Journal online magazin , during the Sun Salutations,  we move into Chaturanga (four limbs staff) briefly and push ourselves forward into Upward Facing Dog (pose C)

In Upward Facing Dog pose:

From Chaturanga or lie on your abs, hands next to chest:

1.       Exhale and press yourself up

2.       Shoulders down

3.       Firm but don't harden the buttocks.

4.       Firm the shoulder blades against the back.

5.        Look straight ahead or tip the head back slightly, but take care not to compress the back of the neck and harden the throat.

For those who wants an advance version: lift your knees and maintain the contact with the floor with the ball of your feet.

(here is a super advanced version ;-)  )

YOGA POSES - Downward-Facing Dog

The Downward Facing Dog is the pose we do often in our Sun Salutations.

This pose is all about upper-body strength!

How to do this pose the right way:

To complete Downward-Facing Dog, rotate your feet so the outside edges are parallel. With that you will have the inner heels further apart from each other than the big toes.

Stretch your heels toward the ground (until you gain flexibility in your legs, your heels will remain off the ground).

Distribute the weight equally through palm and fingers.

I am offering you some "cut-outs" from the Dr. Ray Long's blog The Daily Bandha as a summary:
 Expand the chest while drawing the shoulders away from the neck.
Remember: synchronize movement with breathing. Both the inhale and exhale should be steady and even, the length of the inhale should be the same length as the exhale.

Picture 1:

Avoid mistakes:

1.       Tense shoulders:  If your arms are weak, you might compensate by crushing your shoulders up to your ears. THAT IS A MISTAKE, as it can cause neck strain, shoulder pain, and headaches. Be sure to actively draw your shoulder blades down your back, creating space in your neck. If you need to take a break, assume Child's Pose, and rise back into Down Dog when you're ready. As you continue your practice, upper-body strength will quickly increase, making it easier to hold Down Dog with correct technique.

2.       Unstable hands: A good amount of your body weight is in your hands. Don't allow your palms to lift up; spread your fingers as wide as you can, creating a straight line between the elbows, forearms, and middle fingers; actively press your fingertips and the knuckles into the mat.

3.       Rounding your spine: If your hamstrings are extremely tight and you struggle to straighten them, you'll compensate by rounding your spine. The best thing to do is bend your knees softly so you can concentrate on lengthening your pelvis away from your shoulders. Try pressing your belly button toward your thighs. Be sure your back stays long and straight.

4.       Heels pointed in: Touching your heels to the mat isn't necessary, as it depends on the flexibility of your lower body. But in order to effectively work your inner thighs, hamstrings, and calves in this pose, press your heels out slightly so the outside edges of your feet are parallel with the outside edges of your mat.