Overeating and Aging

Eating is a way to express who you are. The enjoyment of eating food and the company we keep, family, friends brings us inner joy and happiness. This process is repeated over and over again in our lives. Thank goodness!

As we age, overeating becomes a problem. This goes hand in hand with a decreased amount of exercise and a slower metabolism. The result is becoming overweight, causing: Obesity, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes. It causes weakness and upsets our digestive system. All of this accelerates the aging process.

The Hypothalamus is the part of our brain that produces nerve cells that, when they are activated, they produce a sensation of hunger. Blame it on the Hypothalamus!!!

Habitual overeating, especially of meat and strong flavors, will inflame the lining of the stomach. Excess heat in the stomach cause’s overeating, but when we can break the overeating cycle, one still must change their daily habits. This bad habit can become imbedded in the body’s cells and organs over many years. Overeating is habitual “unconscious eating. ”

Start out by changing your diet to eating raw vegetables and fruits regularly to cool the stomach. Celery is a very good choice. Think of eating “greens, vegetables, ” as a way of giving your body sunshine.

To start with, reduce the consumption of foods that inflame the stomach: meats, fried or oily food, These are acidic foods that become toxic to our bodies. This is what causes inflammation which in turn causes disease.

Practice the art of CHEWING. Eating starts with the basic art of chewing. Chew you food well to polarize your food in order to make digestion easier, and food process better. Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth. Proteins, require a longer digestive process, that can actually keep you up at night, if you indulge to late on a nice big steak dinner.

Avoid eating when you are worried, angry, standing, watching TV, and reading. Eating is a time to nurture your body. Give attention to the quality of food that you are eating. I like eating the food that I cook on a white plate. I do that, because it makes the food look more enticing to eat. All of the colors of the vegetables, herbs, and seasonings, even fresh ground pepper show through. It is a great experience to enjoy your food, savor the moment!

When you start to feel full, push your plate away!! No seconds. Try to eat 3 meals per day. Make these meals Breakfast and Lunch, save the evening meal for the smallest. and eat it 3 hours before bedtime. This helps with digestion. Make it a simple meal that consists of a lean protein, scrambled eggs and some veggies, clear broth soups with lots of veggies, (small portion and no meat), or just a simple salad to get you through the night and keep your blood sugars stabilized.

Drinking with meals dilutes your digestive juices, so my advise is to drink some water before eating. As we age we lose the abilities to properly digest our foods.

Drinking water is what purifies our systems, so there is no need to drink to much while eating your food.

The food eating schedule should look like this:

Your first meal should be between 7-9 am (a moderate sized meal containing lots of vegetables, fruits, and protein)

Your second meal should be between 11-1 pm (the largest and the best variety of cooked and raw foods, and lean protein. Grilled salmon, chicken, turkey) Grilled vegetables, and cold vegetables. Fruit should be berries.

Your evening meal should be between 4-6:30 pm (smaller and include a protein)

To ultimately live longer I can promise you that Exercise is the key as we get older! Exercise has been found to increase endorphins, the body’s natural opiate, which makes us feel happy and positive. It decreases the development of Parkinson’s disease, lowers blood pressure, stimulates our immune system, lowers depression, and leads us to a much better sleep at night. Fresh air and exercise, I recommend a brisk walking routine.

It is ultimately our choices to make. If you want to live a long happy life, do the work. Your family and grandchildren will appreciate your efforts, and you will also be setting an example to them as to how to live their lives when they get older.

…remember to make a memory everyday, and don’t apologize for who you are…Rebecca

My grocery’s for the week.. there are “two cheats”..but not for me.. do you know?

Acid – Alkaline Balance, Prevents Disease

Basic Necessities for the Body to Function Properly..

One of the basic necessities for the body to function properly is maintaining the properbalance of acidity and alkalinity (pH) in the blood and other body fluids.

Disease and Effects:

+The acid-alkaline theory of disease is an oversimplification, but it basically states that many diseases are caused by excess acid accumulation in the body.

+ There is accumulating evidence that certain disease states, such as Osteoporosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gout, and many others, may be influenced by the dietary acid-alkaline balance.

The Reason Why:

+ Example: Osteoporosis, may be the result of a chronic intake of Acid-forming foods, consistently outweighing the intake of alkaline foods, leading to the bones being constantly forced to give up their Alkaline minerals; Calcium and Magnesium, in order to buffer the excess acid.

What to Eat:

+ The dietary goal for good health is simple. Make sure that you consume more Alkaline producing foods than Acid producing foods. http://www.courts.ca.gov

+ Keep in mind that there is a difference between Acidic foods and Acid forming foods.

How pH Balance Works:

+ Example: Foods such as lemons and citrus fruits are Acidic, they actually have an alkalizing effect on the body. What determines the pH nature of the food in the body is the metabolic end products when it is digested.

+ Citric acid in citrus fruit is metabolized in the body to its alkaline form and may even be converted to bicarbonate, an other alkaline compound.

Acid Alkaline Balance, how to get it:

+ Many nutritionists believe that if an 80:20 alkaline acid proportion is followed in the daily diet, you need not worry any further about what you eat.

+ pH = measures how acid or how alkaline a substance is.

+ pH scale = scale of measurement for acidity and alkalinity.

Body pH:

+ The classification of our food is either Alkaline forming or acid forming. Alkaline forming foods include:

Vegetables, fruits, soybeans, almonds, most legumes, potatoes with skin, bananas, millet, and buckwheat

+ Acid forming foods include:

. Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, most grains, and peanuts.

+ Neutral foods include:

Fats, and oils as they contain neither acid or alkaline chemical compounds.

Testing your body’s acidity

+ The normal pH of saliva is neutral or slightly alkaline in the range of 7.0-7.5.

+ The normal pH of urine is neutral or acid in ranges from 4.5-7.0.

+ These tests can be gauged by using pH or litmus paper. The regular blue and red litmus will give an approximate reading for acidity or alkalinity.

+ Blue litmus will turn red if the urine or saliva is acidic.

+ Red litmus will turn blue if alkaline.

Our bodies function best at 7.0 should consume 75-80% of Alkalizing foods.

…remember to make a memory everyday and don’t apologize for who you are..rebecca

Food Labels, How to Read them