Archive for January, 2010
Vitamin D: Deadly Deficiency
In one of the largest studies to date, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) have found yet another great reason to complement our nutrition with a quality vitamin D supplement.
While examining large cross sections of the population, researchers found that persons with higher circulating levels of vitamin D were 40% less likely to contract various forms of cancer (1).
According to EPIC coordinator Dr. Elio Riboli of Imperial College, London: “There is consistent scientific evidence that low circulating vitamin D concentration is a marker of increased risk for developing cancer.”
(1) SOURCE: British Medical Journal Online First, Jan 22, 2010
In addition to our dietary intake of vitamin D rich foods, such as Herring, Sardine, Catfish and Mackerel -vitamin D is also synthesized in our skin as a result of our natural exposure to sunlight.
However, with our modern industrial, primarily indoor and sheltered lifestyles -and because very few of us rely upon fish as a staple in our daily diets …most of us are sadly deficient in this essential nutrient.
“Okay, so I’m deficient. What can I expect to experience when I supplement with vitamin D?”
Well, my personal experience echoes the experience of my clients: Supplementing with vitamin D gives one a sense of increased energy, an improved mood and an overall feeling of well-being. It’s not unlike spending a relaxing day in the sun, to be honest.
And that’s just the subjective experience.
Clinically, we know that adequate vitamin D levels improve immune system function, balance blood pressure, resist Alzheimer’s disease, prevent late-life dementia and help prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin D also helps abate Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
So how much vitamin D do I need?
Coach Charles Poliquin suggests, that you should shoot for vitamin D levels between 80 and 100 ng/mL.
In order to accomplish this, you could supplement with 5,000 IU of quality vitamin D3 every day. At this rate it’s likely that levels will be at least in the normal range within about three months. However, you should expect to supplement for another couple of months to reach the high normal range.
Another approach, and the approach that Coach Poliquin and the most knowledgeable nutrition clinicians prefer, is to supplement twice per week with about 30,000 to 100,000 IU of D3. Based on research and clinical evidence, this method seems to accelerate the increase of D3 in blood levels at the fastest and most efficient rate.
The real ‘take-home’ message here is -unless you are eating your fill of fatty-D3 rich fish such as Herring, Sardine, Catfish and Mackerel -and getting at least 8 hours of bright, warm sunshine upon your skin on a daily basis….You really ought to consider improving your moods, your energy, your health and your immune system by supplementing your diet with twice weekly infusions of a quality vitamin D-3 nutritional supplement.
Your health is one of the few things you control….
Don’t leave it to chance.
Let me help you be your best.
To Your Good Health!
Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner
Your Vision Becomes Your Life
Are you where you would like to be?
Did you envision this for your life -for your health?
Are you right where you wanted to be?
Did you see your future? Have you been confident and strong in your life decisions thus far?
Things are Looking Up? -Are you?
We create it, you know?
We create our future.
It’s strange -but it’s so true.
Our dreams are simply unrealized goals -our unrealized potential.
I have met so many successful people who are successful -simply because they want to be -simply because they believe they can do whatever it is that they want to do.
That is their only qualification -a steadfast belief in themselves.
They are not highly educated, not particularly gifted -didn’t get any ‘breaks’ -The only ‘breaks’ these people got were the honest advantages they created for themselves through hard work, determination and a burning desire to be who they believed themselves to be.
Looking back at our lives….we can clearly see that everything we have ever dreamed, has become realized -to one extent or another. We are living everything that we ever thought or believed about ourselves in some capacity or another -are we not?
Think about it…..
Look back five years.
Are you now, where you believed you would be -five years into the future? -Are you close?
Did you even have a vision five years ago?
Did you not have a vision?
If not, then is it any wonder that you have bounced along in haphazard fashion until now find yourself in life situations that keep you off balance, unhappy, unhealthy and out of alignment?
You’re not supposed to be unhappy -unhealthy or out of balance.
Each one of us has the infinite potential to become more.
What will you become?
Focus your attention on that which you will become.
Erase the negative thoughts -ignore the negative feedback -refuse to accept anything but that which you desire.
Try this:
Take 10 minutes each and every day and visualize your future. Really focus and believe that the universe will conspire to propel you into your ultimate state of being. -Repeat this simple affirmation as your vision achieves realization in your mind.
“I am an instrument of infinite creation. Abundance flows to me -through me and beyond me into the infinite abundance of all creation. I am at one with all that I desire. I attract goodness and share all the goodness I attract with others.”
See your future in rich, glowing detail as you repeat this mantra to yourself. Write down what it is that you will achieve by 2015.
Write it down and read it daily.
You are responsible for the creation of your life.
Take control of that wonderful responsibility -and enjoy the process of making all your unrealized potential -a glowing reality.
To your Best Life Ever!
Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner
What are you Hungry For?
What makes us hungry in the first place?
Don't we have anything good to eat?
Have you ever wondered why we get cravings?
When you’re hungry….do you know what you’re really hungry for?
Are you hungry for magnesium? -for L-lysine? -for niacin? -for eicosapentaenoic acid?
See -your body need all sorts of fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, water and nutrients to do its job. And, when the blood stream is lacking the necessary ingredients for nourishment, the brain releases a flood of hormones to prepare the digestive system for food. This preparatory period is when we typically say our ’stomach is growling.’
The hormones initiated in the hypothalamus prime your stomach and your intestines to begin secreting digestive fluids. These digestive fluids are absolutely necessary for proper digestion and nutrient absorption because without them…. whatever food is eaten isn’t properly digested and the body never gets the nutrition it really needs.
This can be we a problem for many of us.
Remember the old saying… ‘Use it or Lose it?’
Because of the lack of fresh, whole foods in the typical western diet -and because of the abundant processed foods that many consume, people have grown deficient in the appropriate digestive fluids…. and that’s a real problem!
Remember…. when the body is lacking nutrients in the blood stream, the brain sends out the ‘hunger signal’ and that rumbling in your tummy begins. You start foraging for food because you think your belly is empty ...Not True!
You don’t need that slice of (whatever you just grabbed)! You might only be deficient in a few key nutrients….
You don’t need more food! -You simply need to digest the fresh, whole food you’ve just eaten more efficiently!
Do you see how this can easily spiral out of control?
You think you’re hungry, so you eat what’s close or what’s convenient ….and maybe that’s enough …and maybe it’s not. Most likely, it’s not. Most likely, whatever you just ate is not what you need -but rather what ’sounded good’ at the moment. Soon you will be hungry again -because your body is still lacking the essential nutrients it needs.
If our diets lack what we need ….then we will always feel hungry, dissatisfied, sick, tired, cranky, moody ….and we’ll have cravings for food that isn’t what we need –but food that temporarily makes us ‘feel better.’
Food can do both….
Food can make us happy, healthy, energetic and satisfied…
Or….food can make us ‘feel good’ ….but only temporarily…then we feel guilty, fat, ugly, kind of sick, tired and eventually ….unhappy, unsatisfied and the cycle begins again.
Without the appropriate digestive fluids, the body is not receiving the nutrition it needs to function optimally.
But of course -we have the solution!
Let’s repair your digestive system so you are able to absorb all the nutrients your body needs.
Complete our Assessment Survey and I will send you a FREE Test Kit.
The test is simple, painless and quick.
In just a few days you will know if your digestive system is working properly and the simple action you can take to repair it.
Click here to take the SportFit Assessment survey
I look forward to helping you achieve the good health you need and deserve.
To your Good Health!
Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner
How much is Enough?
How much change is needed in your habits -to improve your health? – in your exercise routine -to improve your physique? How much change is needed in your spending habits -to increase your wealth? And how much change is needed in your attitude -to increase your happiness?
Or here’s a better question…How much change is needed in your life -to increase your positive impact on the world?
How much?
How much change -is enough?
~~Not as much change as you think!
Just as a steady drip -becomes a trickle…
And a trickle -slowly becomes a stream..
Small Consistent Effort over Time...
And a stream -slowly and steadily carves its way through soil, sand and stone to become its own riverbed…
You too -only need make small, simple and manageable changes to become your own raging river of health, wealth and happiness…leaving a sea of positive change in your wake and upon this earth.
What one small thing -what one small change are you willing to make today -that will begin to carve the path of your own unique -yet mighty riverbed?
How much is Enough?
Just enough….that’s all -Just enough.
Change just a little -change just enough…to begin carving your own unique path.
You can do it…and I am waiting here to help you.
Let me help.
To Your Good Health!
Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner
Sound Fishy?
Maybe you know this….
Fish Stories
Maybe you’ve heard it -but you just aren’t convinced yet.
Or maybe you have no idea…
In any case -I’m going to say it again… Because it really is that important.
You really need to eat more fish!
And if fish really isn’t that appealing to you, simply supplement your diet with a high quality fish oil to receive the same benefits .
Long life and good health depend on it!
Regular fish consumption has long been associated with long life and good health. Adopting a Mediterranean Diet has proven to be a very effective dietary strategy for those seeking to lower their blood pressure and reduce their overall cholesterol. Obviously, not everyone is going to be able to tolerate eating fish on a regular basis. Luckily, we can receive the same benefits without the fish. After all, it isn’t the fish as much as what the fish provides.
Scientists and researchers have found that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) -two fatty acids which are found in abundance in the oil of fish -are the keys to lowering high blood pressure, preventing heart disease, balancing unhealthy cholesterol and lowering resting heart rate.
So if eating fish regularly isn’t your ‘thing’ -all we need to do is add a quality fish oil supplement to our diet that contains these two beneficial fatty acids to reap the benefits of a diet high in fish consumption.
Fish oil has gone from ‘alternative’ to mainstream medicine these last few years, but surprisingly many people are still not taking advantage of this wonderful health supplement.
People are either unaware of the many benefits of fish oil -or they have just not made the leap to actually incorporate this supplement into their daily routine. And that’s a real shame, because fish oil has so many wonderful benefits that are just too good to pass up.
In addition to all the heart-healthy benefits associated with regular fish consumption, numerous clinical studies involving hundreds of thousands of patients have found that daily consumption of fish -or just a high quality fish oil supplement -can delay or even reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease and late-life dementia.
In my own experience and from the experience of my family, friends and clients -I can also attest to the wonderfully ‘brain boosting’ effects of daily DHA and EPA consumption. In addition, we find that our moods are generally more cheery and our outlook is much more positive.
So how much fish is enough?
In a typical Mediterranean diet, fish is a staple food source -eaten daily and with seasonal variety.
If you can’t handle that, simply add a quality fish oil supplement to your daily routine. It’s simple, affordable and quite easy to do.
I recommend that my clients keep a bottle of quality fish oil refrigerated at home. Then, after each meal, simply take a teaspoon or two -more if you’re battling inflammation, high blood pressure or arthritis. This is the most cost effective method and it actually tastes pretty good too. Most bottled fish oils are available in either orange or lemon flavor.
Fish oil capsules -portable and more convenient
The second option is to keep a bottle of high quality fish oil capsules with you or at your place of business. The capsules generally do not need refrigeration and they are very convenient. Then, during or immediately after each meal, simply swallow two to three capsules (generally 3-5 grams total) and follow that with a tall glass of water.
That’s all it takes!
Of course you can combine these options in a multitude of ways…
You can -and really should -try to eat more fish. Fish is good food and there are so many different varieties you may have never tried.
You can also combine -eating more fish -keeping a quality fish oil at home -and keeping a container of high quality fish oil capsules at your office or place of business as well. This way, you’re always covered and you greatly increase your chances of living a long, healthy, satisfying life.
A word of Caution:
When you purchase your fish oil, be sure to look for brands that have been “Molecularly Distilled.”
Molecular distillation is the very lowest acceptable purity grade you should accept. There are higher qualities, but of course with high quality comes cost. So if cost is an issue, be sure to demand molecular distillation in your fish oil supplements.
Molecular distillation removes the greatest amount of toxins (our oceans are polluted -and so are our fish!) without using solvents or other dangerous chemical processes.
In fact, a high quality, molecularly distilled, fish oil supplement may be the safest and most effective alternative to consuming a diet high in fish -while reaping all the wonderful benefits that the fatty acids DHA and EPA provide!
To your Good Health!
Paul D'Arcy, NSCA, CPT, Poliquin BioSignature Practitioner
