In The Zone

I just finished reading The Blue Zones, "Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest". I recommend reading it if you are interested in healthy living. Longevity expert Dan Buettner travels to the world's "Blue Zones"-- areas scattered throughout the world where there is an unusually high concentration of centenarians (people over the age of 100)-- conducting interviews in order to find the common denominators that may likely contribute to longer living. Here are some seemingly key ingredients for a long & healthy life:

• Eat what you sow: plant a garden, tend to it, and eat mainly food you grow & harvest yourself. You will get regular exercise from gardening and your food will be guaranteed organic
• Go mainly vegetarian: eat meat very rarely, if at all. Many studies have shown that consumption of animal protein is connected with heart disease and most forms of cancer. None of the centenarians interviewed in the Blue Zones consume(d) meat regularly
• Maintain a low caloric intake: a suggestion from the Okinawans: "hara hachi bu", which means stop eating when you feel 80% full, because it takes about 20 minutes for you to feel how full you truly are.
• Diffuse stress: do whatever you need to do to make your life as stress-free as possible. Stress cripples the immune system and leaves us more susceptible to diseases
• Be happy: spend a lot of time with family and friends if that brings you happiness
• Introduce known "superfoods" and medicinal herbs into your diet: some examples are ginger, turmeric, maca, chia seeds, oatmeal, honey & peppermint
• Avoid know killers (duh!), but don't fear the sun: don't smoke cigarettes, drink hard alcohol excessively, or do drugs, but do get enough sun to absorb a nice dose of Vitamin D fairly regularly. Many of the centenarians got more sun daily (sans sunscreen) than we have been led to believe is "safe".
• Exercise daily but don't overdo it: long walks & hikes seem to be more optimal for longevity than extreme exercises that wear your body down over time
• Keep up the good work: it is critically important to maintain a strong sense of purpose throughout life. One sure way to do this is to do what you love & love what you do.
• Be self-reliant: do not hire people to do everything for you; doing is living 
• Be grateful: Interestingly, most of the centenarians spent the beginning of their lives struggling. Once they overcame adversity, they had a profound sense of appreciation for life and its simple treasures

Tips & Recipes:


GARDEN: If you have some land where you live, plant a garden. Start with one of your favorite foods that grows well where you live, and learn & expand from there.
I planted arugula in my backyard, along with citrus trees (lemons, grapefruits, blood oranges, pomelos), peach, plum & apricot trees. I am making it a point to harvest the crop often and make this  homegrown produce a fundamental part of my diet. Farming is more fun when I bring Leon with me.

Quinoa & arugula salad: chop & saute onions in a pan with olive oil. Once onions are soft, add chopped zucchini & mushrooms and saute together. At same time cook quinoa, according to instructions on package. Once vegetables are sauteed and quinoa is ready, mix them together over low heat. In a separate bowl, combine washed arugula with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Himalayan pink salt & pepper. Serve arugula salad over vegetable quinoa.

DIFFUSE STRESS: The way I have avoided stress in my life is by always being kind. Being nice to everyone and truly wanting the best for everyone makes your life so peacefully simple

EAT SUPERFOODS: A great way to introduce superfoods into your diet is via juices & smoothies. I make myself fresh juices and/or smoothies pretty much every morning.

"Chunky Monkey" smoothie: one tall glass of crushed ice, 1 1/2 or 2 organic bananas, one small spoonful of organic raw cacao nibs, one small spoonful of organic cacao & maca powder, one regular size spoonful of organic peanut butter, organic almond milk or vanilla almond milk, blend in Vitamix on 5.5 power for 1 minute. Enjoy!

EXERCISE REGULARLY: Fit long walks or hikes into your daily schedule. I used to exercise more intensively before I had Leon, but it isn't good to do excessive exercise while breastfeeding because it reduces your milk supply...so.... I have been hiking with friends often, and it is a great way to stay toned and clear your head at the same time.

BE GRATEFUL: This is a really difficult thing to teach... you just kind of have to "get it". I am pretty sure my mom is the person who is most responsible for my strong sense of gratitude and for that I am... SO GRATEFUL !

MY HEALTH 101

^ that's me playing basketball with my fiancé in Miami

First of all, let me preface this post by emphasizing that, 1. I am by no means a health specialist, and, 2. I believe best health practices are individual to a certain extent, so in terms of quantitative values for the below-listed recommendations, they may be best-determined by paying attention to what your own body is telling you.
I am, however, a person who stays in great physical shape, gets sick extremely infrequently, and generally seems to be in exceptional health. Health optimization is something I think and read about often, and I have devised my own theory that I often share with my friends who are interested in improving their health habits, getting in better shape or simply feeling better. This is important to me, so I feel compelled to share.

With respect to health optimization, there are four main goals/rules I will identify and expand upon: 1. Eat and drink right; 2. Exercise as often as pleasurably possible; 3. Get enough high-quality sleep; 4. Avoid and/or reconcile stressors

1. EAT AND DRINK RIGHT

In terms of eating, I have devised my own rule that I follow, and it is pretty simple. Basically, I only eat things that occur naturally (and are certified organic or the equivalent thereof). For example, a carrot grows out of the ground naturally, a fish swims in the sea naturally, but a cookie doesn't grow or swim anywhere! A cookie is just one example of something I will generally not eat, and advise you not to eat.
--Processed foods I recommend staying away from include: pasta, bread, crackers, candy, cakes and the obvious relatives of these. Generally speaking, stay away from anything that is or contains processed sugars or processed carbohydrates.
--Foods I recommend eating VERY OFTEN are: all vegetables, all fruits, rice, quinoa, and other beans, legumes, grains, seeds, nuts. Here is a great list of the healthiest foods.
--Some foods I recommend eating pretty often are: eggs or egg whites, specific types of granola that are made exclusively of grains, seeds and fruits.
--Foods I recommend eating a significant portion of only about once a week maximum: Meat of some variety (ie fish (preferably lower in mercury if eating fish most often), poultry, red or other meat); dairy

Here's an interesting article I read recently about eating right: Murdock Health
As is highlighted by this article, fruit smoothies and vegetable soups are GREAT food choices.

In terms of drinking, I believe so much in the power of fresh juices. I recommend drinking mixed fresh juices almost every day. (and I do not mean those Naked juices distributed in grocery stores; I mean juices you either juice for yourself at home or buy at a health food store where they are juiced immediately before consumption).
--My favorite juice is: orange + apple + carrot + ginger + lemon + (sometimes garlic) juice.
--Another juice I drink relatively often is a Green Juice (celery + cucumber + kale + spinach + apple + I add lemon).

The benefits of drinking fresh juices are profound and many in number:
--high level of nutrient-absorption, to promote great health across the board
--getting your body much-needed enzymes (which are destroyed when food is cooked); these enzymes keep you energized and boost your metabolism
--getting important phytochemicals, which help your body fight [off] disease
--getting sufficient antioxidants and other vitamins, so as to keep the immune system at its highest functioning level and keep your skin from aging prematurely
--helps prevent a vitamin deficiency, so that you can also be at your best both psychologically and phisiologically

I assure you, if you start drinking fresh juices often you will notice a major improvement in the strength of your immune system, your energy and focus levels, and probably even in your aesthetic appearance.

Other than that, we all know drinking enough water is very important, so I make sure to do this too, especially when I am exercising. However, I will tell you that I am very skeptical of plastic bottled waters and I would not recommend drinking out of them. I always opt for filtered tap water, or glass bottled waters, like Voss water.

As far as coffee goes, I think it is just fine for you as long as intake is limited to one cup per day.

2. EXERCISE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE, AND DO SO IN A PLEASURABLE FASHION

Did you play a sport when you were younger that you really enjoyed, and then suddenly stop playing just because you weren't on your college team? My recommendation: don't be shy: get back in it! If you enjoy playing sports, there may be no better way for you to exercise, and especially get your cardiovascular workout in. I typically play in a pick-up basketball game for three hours on Wednesday nights, and in a pick-up soccer game for a few hours on Saturday mornings. These are some of the most enjoyable hours of my week- and they also keep me toned and keep my endurance level high. Also, let me add that even if there was not a sport you loved to play when you were younger, there are many sports you can pick up pretty easily later in life. Some suggestions (obviously depending on your geography) are: paddle-boarding, tennis, surfing, kite-surfing, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, or even dance.

I do not enjoy the gym, so if I go to the gym, I like to splurge on a trainer or a yoga (or other exercise) class; otherwise, I will simply not stay engaged and I will get very little out of my exercise. If you can't fit a trainer or exercise classes in your budget-- which is highly likely and understandably so!--I recommend scheduling one or two sessions with a highly recommended trainer and take mental notes during the sessions; then run straight home to jot down some notes on the exercise and begin practicing on your own; there are also some really effective exercise videos out there that you can watch and follow-- Tracy Andersen puts out some great ones I have done a few times and I have really felt the effects. I recommend working out with a trainer or taking a exercise classes only as often as you want to. There is no need to do so every day if you don't like too; then exercising will feel like a chore, which is counterproductive. I do believe exercise should be something enjoyable and exciting (not stressful!). For me, making the same exact exercise a daily routine, would completely diminish the enjoyment factor.

Going for a quick run outside when you are feeling lethargic is an exercise no-brainer. Just throw on a pair of sneakers (or not!) and go for a quick, fast-paced run. I, personally, get bored running very long distances, and I tend to believe that a short, fast run is just as beneficial, if not more beneficial, than a long, moderate-paced run. I suggest running outside, as opposed to inside on a treadmill, because it is important to get outside and get some Vitamin D from the sun. These days, with skin cancer fears running rampant, many women in America have severe Vitamin D deficiencies. I take my dog for runs on the beach, which is a great way for me to accomplish a few things all at once: I get a quick dose of the exercise I need, my dog gets a dose of the exercise he needs, and he has gone out for one of his multiple daily walks!

Basically, I suggest doing some form of exercise every day, but I think it's best to mix it up a bit, and don't forget that the team sports you love are a viable option as a weekly exercise !

3. GET ENOUGH HIGH-QUALITY SLEEP

I recommend sleeping no less than six hours per night. Sleep is so incredibly critical and omnipotent that it is definitely worth getting a sufficient amount. I typically sleep eight hours per night! There is no doubt in my mind that sleeping patterns greatly affect the way you look and feel. We all know, there is no better way to recover from common sickness than to get a lot of sleep. This speaks volumes.

Six reasons not to scrimp on sleep from Harvard Medical School.

4. AVOID AND/OR RECONCILE STRESSORS

I am a firm believer that stress is one of the most deleterious threats to one's health. I believe that high levels of stress make us especially vulnerable to disease. (Did you ever realize that so many of the most notorious carcinogens are directly linked to your level of stress: think cigarettes and deodorant)

Here is a VERY interesting article (written by a friend of mine who writes for the Wall Street Journal, and whose articles you should keep up with) about the physiological impact of stress:
Stress Health Link

The most advisable thing to do is, 1. identify the main causes of your stress and 2. find ways to manage and reconcile these stress patterns. All of the items I have already discussed above are natural stress-reducers, ie eating and drinking right, exercising and sleeping sufficiently. Here's a quick article from the Harvard University Health Publication re: stress management and reduction that you can take a look at: Taking the Sting out of Five Common Stressors


All in all, I strongly suggest taking steps to maximize your health and I hope a little insight into my own health management techniques has been helpful or even inspiring.

Read this book.

Born to Run (A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen) by: Christopher McDougall

I read this book a while ago, but it is so worth reading, for so many reasons, that I feel compelled to go back in time and put this into a current blog posting.
You can find many summaries of the book by simply googling it, so I will not bother summarizing; however, I will tell you some of the more interesting things this book made me think about:

1. Evolution and Physiology. Why and how did we outlive the Neanderthals, even though they were bigger, stronger and even superior in brain size? How is it that we, at our greatest, can run down a deer? Interestingly, the answer to both of these questions has everything to do with our running endurance, specifically our running endurance under extreme conditions, like excessive heat/sun.

2. Diet and Exercise. I am already a very health-conscious person, when it comes to my eating and exercise habits. However, I do not get my information directly from nutritionists and other experts. Instead, I prefer to piece together my own diet and exercise belief system, from my reading, personal experience, intuition & logic. In this book, the Tarahumara Indians, arguably the best runners in the world, many of whom can run over 100 miles without rest, (and who also have nearly nonexistent incidences of modern diseases) subsist off of a diet of mainly the following foods:
pinto beans, squash, chili peppers, wild beans, pinole, chia, corn tortillas (made with limestone for calcium), rice, corn, and many other fruits and vegetables. They eat meat only occasionally. Aside from their homemade beer-type liquor, their diet consists of NO sugars or processed carbohydrates.
Also, Geranium Niveum (a.k.a Wild Geranium) is the Tarahumara super drug- as effective as red wine at neutralizing disease-causing free radicals.

3. Questioning the Benefits of Modernization. There is no question that some things modern are indispensably and indisputably incredible; I would never want to take back the advances achieved by modern medicines like penicillin. However, as most of us know, even modern medicine is certainly a double-edged sword: my mind automatically switches from penicillin to the more modern issues of toxic over-medicating and poisonous elective 'injectables'. This book discreetly highlights some of the counter-productivity associated with modernization. One of the most clear examples is the reality that, in nearly every single study done, the price of running shoes is positively correlated with the frequency and extremity of injury. Christopher McDougall points out that many experts would even go so far as to suggest that running barefoot, as the Tarahumara do, is far better for our bodies than running in a pair of Nike Shox!! As I pointed out in #2, the Tarahumara Indians experience nearly non-existent levels of modern disease, which most likely has something to do with any or all of the following variables: they do not ingest any of our 'modern' sugars and processed carbohydrates, they exercise outdoor regularly and extensively, and they have an extremely peaceful culture, free of many of the stressors associated with modern society (9 to 5 workdays, excessive use & consumption of technology etc). These are just a couple reasons, amongst many, why this book made me question the benefits of modernization.

So, basically I could go on and on about Born to Run and the things it made me think about, but I really suggest that you go out and buy it or stay home and download it, and start reading today.