My top 10 daily power exercises for healthy living

#AgelessTalks #HealthyLiving

When I am very busy at work at times I catch myself being glued to my chair for 3+ hours. It is one of my bad habits that I am currently working on.

When I finally get up I love to do what I call my "power exercises", which are short exercises focusing on balance, and joint mobility. I fit these exercises whenever I get a chance - bathroom breaks, tea breaks, while waiting for a conference call, while brushing teeth, drying my hair... Some days, I willingly admit, it is all I can fit in my busy schedule so I make the most of ever minute.

Balancing Poses

Balance exercises are often neglected yet they are increasingly important as we age. These exercises help in maintaining daily activities as we age, such as walking, climbing stairs, walking on slippery surfaces. Balance exercises help in isolation of muscles and core stabilization hence improve our posture and coordination, as well as, benefiting our muscle - brain coordination.

Here are my top 3 that I practice daily:

1. Tree pose

2. Dancer pose

3. Front and back scale combination

Whole body joint mobility exercises

Joint exercises exercises are crucial in maintaining proper functioning of the joints and providing greater mobility for years to come. Due to the sedentary lifestyle many of our joints use only a fraction of possible movement. And if you don't use them, you lose them!

Joint mobility is crucial to maintaining quality of life as we age. It is required for the basic living - sitting and standing up, washing our back, getting up from a fall, lifting shopping bags, and maintaining good posture.

1. Squat by the wall

2. Sit up - stand up

3. Inch worm. I love to add a push up when I am down.

4. Lunges with a rotation

5. Clasping hands behind

6. Reverse prayer yoga

Breathing

Breathing help with stress and anxiety and I found it is a great help during stressful times at work.

1. My favourite exercise is 4-7-8. You breathe through the nose on the count of 4, hold it for the count of seven, and exhale through the mouth on the count of eight.

What are your top 10 favourite power exercises?

Say Cheese!

#AgelessTalks #Cheese

In Canada, we consume 12.4 kg of cheese per year per person, which is lower than the US, and most of the European countries, but much higher than Asian and African nations. http://www.dairyinfo.gc.ca/index_e.php?s1=dff-fcil&s2=cons&s3=consglo&s4=tc-ft

Types of cheese

• Sheep - traditionally sheep eat only tender, sweet top blade of the grasses. Their diet is very rich in a variety of greens as they select more nutritious plants. The sheep cheeses have rich, buttery, and sweet flavour. They are typically much higher in fat than goat and cow cheeses. http://www.sheep101.info/eating.html
• Goat - similarly to sheep, goats primarily continue their grazing diet. They adapted a wider variety of plants that sheep, including prickly plants and some bitter tasting plants and weeds. Goat cheese is more acidic, and has a much bolder flavour. It has the lowest fat contents of the three types of cheeses. http://www.acga.org.au/goatnotes/C001.php
• Cow - Pasture raised cows produce milk and cheese that has mild earth taste as they eat whole gras often with traces of soil. http://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-bites/why-do-cows-milk-goats-milk-and-sheeps-milk-taste-different

Cows milk and cheese are heavier for humans to digest than the other two due to its larger fat molecules. The easiest to digest is goats cheese as its fat molecules are closest to human milk. Cheese from pasture raised animals is higher in Omega 3. However, nutritional content does not vary significantly amongst three types of cheeses. Thou a popular belief that sheep milk is the healthiest might have some ground.

Fresh, soft and unripened cheeses

In Europe people consume a lot more fresh and unripened cheeses like feta (goat and sheet mix), chèvre (goat), mascarponi (cow), or quark (cow), than we do in North America. It is believed that fresh cheeses are healthier as they are more natural and contain fewer ingredients. However, they contain more lactose so they might not be a better option for everyone. 

Additives, which ones to avoid?

• Emulsifiers, are associated with potential health risks. Look for sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, tartrate.
• Food colouring, are associated with health risks and allergies. Look for Yellow 6, Yellow Tartrazine. 
• Other - look for Trisodium Phosphate often used in spreadable cheeses. It is a well known irritant.

Additives accepted as safe but you may want to watch for:

Cellulose - man made 'fibre' from wood chips often added to low fat variety of products. Look for Microcrystalline cellulose, MCC, cellulose gel, Carboxymethyl cellulose, cellulose gum.

Potassium Sorbate - used to preserve cheese from mould. Known as a mild irritant but in quantities used in produce it is assessed to be safe.

Guar Gum and Locust Bean Gum - is only a concern if you have gut issues.

http://superhumancoach.com/negative-effects-of-processed-cheeses/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703834804576300991196803916

http://blog.fooducate.com/2014/04/11/potassium-sorbate-beneficial-preservative-or-harmful-dna-toxin/
http://chriskresser.com/harmful-or-harmless-guar-gum-locust-bean-gum-and-more/

Cheese - Aye or Nay?

Cheese was getting a bad reputation for its high fat content for years. However, recent studies show that dairy fat is linked to a lower type 2 diabetes risk. 

http://m.circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2016/03/22/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.018410.abstract

Cheese can be part of a healthy diet. However, it might be one of the foods where moderation theory should be applied. That way you can buy better quality cheese and enjoy it even more.

April - Stress Awareness Month: Combat your Stress with Exercise

#AgelessTalks #Fitness #Stress

Recent study showed that aerobic exercise can help with blood vessel health and cardiovascular disease. The study highlighted the importance of the findings as part of the treatment for chronic stress, where we see these health problems. The study was presented at the annual Experimental Biology meeting in April 2016. http://www.the-aps.org/mm/hp/Audiences/Public-Press/2016/15.html

Stress can impact four areas of our health:

• body- demonstrating itself as headaches, muscle pains, tension in the shoulders and back.
• emotions- feeling of inadequacy, depression, irritability, poor confidence, anxiety, alienation.
• mind- showing as worry, nightmares, or impaired judgement.
• behaviour- resulting in eating more or eating less, drinking and smoking, falling or tripping, insomnia, exhaustion, teeth grinding. 

Which areas are impacted depends on the stressor, the length of the exposure, its impact on the individual, and how the individual responds to it.

Behind these reactions are key hormones:

• adrenaline and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) - are the fight or flight hormones that provide the burst of energy by stimulating the breakdown of glycogen into glucose. Adrenaline increases the heart beat, sweating, and tense muscles. Norepinephrine is responsible for increased awareness and focus. These hormone are moving blood flow from non essential parts like skin to muscles.
• corticosteroids (cortisol and aldosterone) - promotes survival in a longer term. It takes more time for us to see effects, as it kicks in after storage of glycogen has been depleted. The hormone shifts its support from less essential parts like immune system, digestion, growth, or sex drive to muscles support.

Reference and additional reading: https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-textbook/the-endocrine-system-37/regulation-of-body-processes-212/hormonal-regulation-of-stress-802-12038/

What exercises are best for Stress?
According to the Harvard Medical School (http://health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax), rest and relaxation are far less effective in stress management than aerobic exercise. They found that exercise reduces stress hormone adrenaline and cortisol, and increases production of endorphins - natural painkillers and mood boosters.

1. Weight training, auto regulation,  and "muscle meditation" exercises that use large muscle groups in a rhythmic pattern seem to be the most effective in combating body stress. This is achieved by clear mind-muscle connection. For more details on auto regulation exercises refer to http://www.completehumanperformance.com/autoregulated-training/


2. Cardio, such as jogging, boxing, running, even walking is known to be best for clearing our heads of worries. Aerobic exercise improves blood circulation and provides more oxygen to the brain, which helps with emotional and mind stress.
3. Low impact exercises like stretching, yoga, or tai chi are effective for behavioural stress. However, they are also effective as an addition to weigh and cardio training.

Other, easy exercises for stress that can be done in the office or in the car:
- progressive muscular relaxation exercises, which involve tensing and then releasing each muscle group individually. For detailed instructions please refer to:
http://www.anxietybc.com/adults/how-do-progressive-muscle-relaxation
- breathing techniques that can involve belly breathing, or alternate nostril. Please refer to the article that describes 6 most common breathing techniques that release stress.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/08/6-breathing-exercises-to-relax-in-10-minutes-or-less/

"Exercise is good for your mind, body, and soul". Susie Michelle Cortright

If we were cars...

#AgelessTalks
Healthy Living

I often wonder what our life would be like if we took care of ourselves as we do of our cars. With proper fuel, regular service and maintenance, and rust prevention.

Fuel:

What we eat is just as important as fuel! We would not put a cheaper or lower quality fuel into our car just because... it takes too long to get to the gas station, gas is too expensive, it was the only thing you could find on your way... Just like with cars, fuelling our body requires some planning.  Although we do not come with a clearly written owners manual, it does not give us permission to be ignorant about self-care. Sonner or later we will face consequences as our body will brake, just like the car would.

Maintenance:
One of the aspects of the Canadian lifestyle I cannot get use to is a lack of any regular health checkups. In Poland, we got accustomed to regular blood and urine tests, once a year is very common. Most people would have a very good idea how to read the results and be able to identify if any test is out of ordinary for them. I perceive these routine body tests like a regular car service -  you change your oil, filters, you do an annual inspection. If everything is good, you continue if not, you go and take care of it. Why we can get away years without doing any routine tests and often uncover problems when we are already falling into pieces beats me! My advice, ask your doctor for regular checkups, just like you would sign up for a car service. 

Daily Care and Rust Prevention:

Regular exercise is our body's way of rust prevention and overall daily maintenance. We want to maintain our movement and joint mobility for years to come as it significantly impacts our standard of life as we age. As a car owner it is our responsibility to at least wipe our windshield. Of course we can go to the extremes of polishing it for hours each day. We have a similar responsibility to ourself - to move. Whether it is just walking the recommended 10,000 steps a day or engaging in a regular more vigorous exercise routines. Without the movement as our daily care our bodies rust just like cars do.

Lets treat ourselves and our bodies like luxury cars so they can serve us for years to come. We all need to make an effort and time for proper nutrition, periodic checkups, and regular exercise. After all we do not have a choice of replacing our bodies with a brand new version... At least not yet!