Premier Family Medical provides information and advices to patients for choosing a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, achieving adequate exercise and keeping food safe to avoid food-borne illness. Nutrition, exercise, sunshine, fresh air and strict avoidance of all toxic chemicals in foods, personal care products and home environments will make you appear to age much more gracefully than everybody else, especially as these needs usually increase with age. The daily use of a multivitamin / multi-mineral supplement offers a practical approach to help bring micronutrients intakes in line with current recommendations.
Scientific evidence in support of the health benefit of nutritional supplements has grown dramatically in recent years.
People who are physically fit, eat a healthy, balanced diet and take nutritional supplements can measure out to be 10 to 20 years younger biologically than their chronological age. We will briefly outline an ANTI-AGING PROTOCOL and the importance of a balanced, integrated NUTRITION AND DIET and give a few advices on proper SKIN CARE. Click on the link to go to the specific section.
ANTI-AGING PROTOCOL*
Clinical evidence shows the importance of proper diet and digestion on oxidative stress levels. Oxidative stress influences your health and vitality, but there are things you can do to help your body reduce its effects.
Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals. Fast-paced lifestyle, unhealthy diet, poor digestion, cigarette smoking, drugs, and constant exposure to the environment are just a few of the variables that lead to increased oxidation. This condition is known as “oxidative stress” and involves the release of free radicals. Free radicals are unpaired electrons that stray from chemical solutions and damage important cellular components such as proteins, cells, cell membranes, tissues and DNA. Cells may function poorly or even die if this occurs, which promotes premature aging.
As you get older, several physical changes occur that effect your health. Muscle mass usually decreases, metabolism slows down, and your body is not able to repair damaged DNA efficiently as it once did. If such irreparable damage occurs, one of three things usually happens:
1) The cell might die on its own or get eliminated by the “T” cells of the immune system.
2) The cell might replicate without restriction and transform into either a benign or a malignant tumor.
3) Very often, the cell will simply not be able to perform the functions for which it was designed.
So what happens when your cells are not functioning properly? One possibility is that the DNA of the cell is unable to produce the necessary enzymes for the body, or perhaps the enzymes that it does produce are unusable. It can also lead to cell mutation and causes new cells to grow erroneously, which means free radicals are associated with both development of cancer as well as premature aging.
Free radicals generated by chronic oxidative stress are frequently implicated with health problems that are experienced with age, such as hardened arteries, heart disease, type II diabetes, cancer, and even wrinkle formation. Modifying our lifestyle in an effort to reduce the stress on our body and cells is essential. As the cells in our body become less productive, it does make sense to supplement our diets with tools that can help.
How to Promote a Healthy Lifestyle. Consider taking daily digestive enzymes to enhance nutrient acquisition. Also, try to eat a healthy diet that is loaded with antioxidants or take antioxidant preparations as supplements to your diet. Plus, make sure you get adequate sleep every night. In addition to these good habits, personal meditation and relaxation exercises work for many. You can also find affordable classes for exercise, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, and many other techniques. Sometimes, simply taking deep breaths throughout the day is a great way to reduce stress. If you need to take a break, massage therapy has been useful for many people. Or if things are getting to be too much for you, maybe you should take a much-needed vacation or just lose yourself in a good book. Either way, try to keep things in perspective.
Always try to balance work with home and fun. Laughter really is the best medicine. Maybe you can develop a new hobby! Positive affirmations or spiritual reflections are great ways to emphasize the important things in life.
NUTRITION AND DIET
Great nutrition means getting a lot of the phytochemicals and antioxidants, too.
Nutrients are divided into Macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fats) and Micronutrients (essential in minute amounts to act as coenzymes, cofactors, regulating metabolic pathways; cannot be synthesized by humans and must come from the diet).
Carbohydrates. The foods you eat provide the energy your body needs to function. Glucose, derived from carbohydrates, is the main source of energy for the human body. Glucose is digested (oxidized) resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide, water, and ATP. If you don’t get enough carbohydrates, your body can make glucose from protein or fat — and if you get too many carbohydrates, your body is very good at storing them as glycogen or convert them to fat.
Nutrients are divided into Macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fats) and Micronutrients (essential in minute amounts to act as coenzymes, cofactors, regulating metabolic pathways; cannot be synthesized by humans and must come from the diet).
Carbohydrates. The foods you eat provide the energy your body needs to function. Glucose, derived from carbohydrates, is the main source of energy for the human body. Glucose is digested (oxidized) resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide, water, and ATP. If you don’t get enough carbohydrates, your body can make glucose from protein or fat — and if you get too many carbohydrates, your body is very good at storing them as glycogen or convert them to fat.
Carbohydrates. The foods you eat provide the energy your body needs to function. Glucose, derived from carbohydrates, is the main source of energy for the human body. Glucose is digested (oxidized) resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide, water, and ATP. If you don’t get enough carbohydrates, your body can make glucose from protein or fat — and if you get too many carbohydrates, your body is very good at storing them as glycogen or convert them to fat.
Fats. Your body also needs fats to be healthy. Membranes that contain fats surround all the cells of your body. Your brain has fatty acids, and fats are also needed to signal hormones. Fat metabolism occurs mostly in the liver and provides essential functions such as temperature regulation, protection of organs, and reserve energy. If too many fats are oxidized, the blood can become too acidic, altering body processes and further impairing digestion. Excessive fat intake is stored in adipose tissue for future use by the metabolism.
Calcium. Another raw material your body needs is calcium. Calcium has several functions, but is best known as the mineral that is stored in your bones and teeth. You need calcium from your diet to keep your bones and teeth strong.
Vitamins and Minerals. Vitamins and minerals you get from your diet are just as important as carbohydrates, protein and fats; however, you only need them in small amounts. Vitamins and minerals usually function as co-enzymes, which mean they help chemical reactions in the body happen a lot faster. For example, many of the B complex vitamins help your body burn carbohydrates for energy. Vitamin A is needed for vision, zinc is involved in many metabolic processes, and vitamin C helps keep connective tissue strong and your immune system functioning.
A healthy, balanced diet will provide you with lots of vitamin and minerals. An unhealthy diet may make your body deficient in one or more of these helpers. Vitamins can be divided into fat soluble vitamins (vit. A, K, D, A) and water soluble vitamins (vit. C, B Vitamins). Important minerals are: Cr, Fe, Zn, Cu. I, Mg, B, Ca, Se.
Good nutrition provides more than energy, structural components, vitamins and minerals. There are other substances in the foods that you eat that have become better known over the last few years.
Phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are found in the colorful parts of fruits and vegetables. Although they aren’t required for body functioning, they may have a very powerful impact on your health. For example, quercetin (found in red apples) functions like an antihistamine and as an anti-inflammatory effect. Resveratrol, found in grape skins and seeds, is a powerful antioxidant.
Antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect your body from damage that comes from the sun, pollution, smoke, and poor dietary choices. They are found in the phytochemicals of fruits and vegetables, as well as some vitamins and amino acids.
GUIDELINES FOR A HEALTHY AND BALANCED NUTRITION
REASONS FOR SUPPLEMENTATION
Countless studies link a host of diseases (including atherosclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes) to our highly processed diet which is high in saturated fats, caffeine and refined carbohydrates.
Data provided by NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) suggest that most Americans do not meet the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) and Adequate Intakes (AI) of vitamins and minerals.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that many Americans get less than 70% of the RDA of many essential minerals and antioxidants. The USDA/HHS position is enclosed in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005: “…fortified foods and dietary supplements may be useful sources of one or more nutrients that otherwise might be consumed in less than recommended amounts. However, dietary supplements, while recommended in some cases, cannot replace a healthful diet”.
Most common reasons for supplementation are:
- Poor dietary choices
- Decreased nutrient density in food (fast growing crops, agricultural practices, premature harvest, etc.)
- Poor nutritional status due to stressful lifestyles
- Over-fed but undernourished (obesity)
- Documented ability to compensate genetic vulnerabilities with nutritional intervention
FOUNDATION SUPPLEMENTS
- Multivitamins (including minerals)
- Antioxidants
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Calcium
- Coenzyme Q10
- Vitamin D
Multivitamins Facts: many published studies support the use of a daily multivitamin / multimineral, which may be the single most potent preventive health measure. Americans are not consuming diets that provide sufficient vitamin and mineral intake to maintain a good nutritional status.
Antioxidants Facts: antioxidants are scavengers looking for and inactivating harmful free radicals and fight inflammation. They act as a “line of defense” against oxidative stress caused by excessive free radicals produced by the metabolism. When free radicals accumulate, they may cause a state known as oxidative stress. Common antioxidants are: vitamins A, C, D, E, Selenium, and Coenzyme Q-10. More powerful antioxidants are the proanthocyanidins (PAs), bioflavonoids found in grape seed, pine bark (pycnogenol), red wine extracts, and many other healthy foods. USDA developed a database of the proanthocyanidin content of foods, published online: https://data.nal.usda.gov/system/files/PA02.pdf.
There is scientific evidence that oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPAs) have anti-atherogenic, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties. OPAs help to maintain proper circulation, improve skin elasticity, strengthen capillaries, help improve visual acuity, help maintain joint flexibility, reduce effects of stress, and reduces inflammation.
Here are the top 12 healthy foods that are high in antioxidants:
- dark chocolate
- pecans
- blueberries
- strawberries
- artichokes
- goji berries
- raspberries
- kale
- red cabbage
- beans
- beets
- spinach
By eating a wide variety of the foods specified, you can boost your blood levels of antioxidants and reap their many benefits.
Antioxidant-rich holiday foods: Overeating further increases free radical production. As we eat more, our mitochondria release more activated oxygen than normal during energy consumption, thus generating higher levels of free radicals. And, risk of oxidative stress is greater when certain types of foods are consumed and the degree of danger can be influenced by the way in which they are prepared or cooked.
You can avoid sources of free radicals on your holiday menu by planning ahead and incorporating healthy foods. Keep in mind that free radical content is high in nutrient-poor meals and those deficient of antioxidants.
- Avoid high glycemic foods, or foods that are rich in refined carbohydrates and sugars. They are more likely to generate free radicals.
- Limit processed meats such as sausages, bacon and salami. They contain preservatives, which leads to the production of free radicals.
- Limit red meat. It is particularly more vulnerable to oxidation because of its high iron content.
- Don’t reuse cooking fats and oils. Heating fats and oils during cooking oxidizes them, generating free radicals which seep into our foods.
- Limit alcohol. Alcoholic drinks not only are high in calories but also can produce free radicals in the body. Try to limit your drinks to one or two per day.
- Eat foods rich in antioxidants, chemicals that inhibit the oxidation of molecules by neutralizing free radicals, thereby stopping them from causing cellular damage. Antioxidants are found in a variety of plants in the form of vitamins A, C and E, selenium and certain phytonutrients and polyphenols. Cranberries are loaded with them!
- Look for foods with β-carotene, lycopene and lutein, including broccoli flowers, alfalfa sprouts, Brussels sprouts, carrots, collard greens, corn, mango and tomatoes. These foods can be incorporated into several side dishes such as vegetable medleys, casseroles and salads.
- Consider fruit for dessert instead of rich pies and cakes. Apples, cantaloupe, cherries, grapefruit, kiwi, papaya, red grapes, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are delightful on their own or when mixed to create lovely fruit salads.
- Grab some nuts – always plentiful at the holidays – and other foods rich in vitamin E, such as sweet potatoes.
- Plant metabolites called flavonoids also demonstrate antioxidant functions. Some versatile antioxidant-rich flavonoids include onions, eggplant, lettuce, turnip greens, endives, pears, red wine, parsley, citrus fruits, berries, cherries, plums, legumes, soybeans, milk, cheese, tofu and miso.
- Enjoy antioxidant superfoods, those with high levels of more than one vitamin. These are prunes, plums, raisins, blueberries, cranberries, figs, oranges, pomegranates, sweet red bell peppers, beets, kale, spinach and dark chocolate.
- Try herbal therapy – in your food! Many spices can not only enhance the flavor of our holiday turkeys and hams but also reduce oxidative stress. These include ginger, grape seed extract, ginkgo, rosemary and turmeric.
- Take time for tea. When the evening comes to an end, you can revel in a gentle and soothing cup of warm green tea and be comforted in knowing that the polyphenols in your brew also combat oxidation.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) Facts: is an antioxidant that your body produces naturally. Your cells use CoQ10 for growth and maintenance. Health conditions like heart disease, brain disorders, diabetes, and cancer have been linked to low levels of CoQ10. Levels of CoQ10 in your body decrease as you age. Thus, older people seem to be deficient in this compound. Some other causes of CoQ10 deficiency include:
- Nutritional deficiencies, such as vitamin B6 deficiency
- Genetic defects in CoQ10 synthesis or utilization
- Increased demands by tissues as a consequence of disease
- Mitochondrial diseases
- Oxidative stress due to aging
- Side effects of statin treatments
CoQ10 improves energy, augments the immune system, and acts as an antioxidant. Plays a significant role in boosting the immune system and physical performance, as tissues and cells involved with immune function are highly energy-dependent and therefore require an adequate supply of CoQ10 for optimal function. Though still controversial, some preliminary evidence suggests that CoQ10 may help to prevent or treat the adverse effects, such as muscle pains and liver problems, of taking statin-type cholesterol drugs. Typically, 90–200 mg of CoQ10 per day are recommended. CoQ10 is a relatively well-tolerated and safe supplement that may benefit a wide variety of people looking for a natural way to boost health.
Vitamin D Facts: Perhaps the most vital benefits are regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and facilitating normal immune system function. Getting a sufficient amount of vitamin D is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against certain diseases. Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. Vitamin D sufficiency prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Together with calcium, vitamin D also helps protect older adults from osteoporosis. Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation. Many genes encoding proteins that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis are modulated in part by vitamin D. Many cells have vitamin D receptors, and some convert 25(OH)D to 1,25(OH)2D.
Very few foods in nature contain vitamin D. The flesh of fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel) and fish liver oils are among the best sources. Small amounts of vitamin D are found in beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. Most people meet at least some of their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight. Ultraviolet (UV) B radiation with a wavelength of 290–320 nanometers penetrates uncovered skin and converts cutaneous 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3, which in turn becomes vitamin D3. Season, time of day, length of day, cloud cover, smog, skin melanin content, and sunscreen are among the factors that affect UV radiation exposure and vitamin D synthesis. In supplements and fortified foods, vitamin D is available in two forms, D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol) that differ chemically only in their side-chain structure. It appears that at nutritional doses vitamins D2 and D3 are equivalent, but at high doses vitamin D2 is less potent.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Facts: we need both Omega-6 (pro-inflammatory) and omega-3 (anti-inflammatory) fatty acids in our diet. The ratio should be ~ 3:1 (omega-6/omega-3), but most commonly is 30:1! Therefore, we need to decrease omega-6 (vegetable oils: linoleic, gamma-linoleic and arachidonic acids) and increase omega-3, specifically EPA and DHA. Good sources of omega-3 are: fatty fish, fortified foods, and supplements. EPA promotes healthy cholesterol levels, promotes clean blood vessels, reduces inflammation, and promotes cardiovascular health. DHA supports memory and learning, is an antioxidant, promotes nervous system functioning, is required for retinal development and function. Clinical studies have shown as much as 25-30% reduction in triglycerides levels after supplementation with fish oil (other benefits: decreased c-reactive protein, improved blood flow). Literature reports also show benefits of fish oil supplementation for individuals with: Crohn’s disease, high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis.
Calcium Facts: adequate consumption of calcium and vitamin D are crucial to develop optimal peak bone mass and to preserve bone mass throughout life. If dietary intake of calcium is not sufficient, your body will take it from your bones. Bone re-absorption causes osteoporosis, most common among post-menopausal women. 20 million people in the US have osteoporosis and 1.3 million suffer fractures annually. Contributing factors to poor bone health are smoking, low calcium intake, vit. D deficiency. The goal for calcium supplementation is to increase bone mass and strength. Important ingredients in a calcium supplement are:
- Calcium: 1000 mg (<50 y/o); 1200 mg (>50 y/o)
- Vitamin D3: promote re-absorption of dietary calcium and phosphorus
- Magnesium: needed for metabolism of potassium and calcium; inhibits formation of calcium oxalate stones (kidney and bladder)
- Vitamin C: needed for collagen synthesis (part of bone)
- Boron: affects vitamin D3 metabolism, needed for cartilage formation and repair
- Manganese: needed for enzymatic activity needed for bone formation. Mn levels are lower in women with osteoporosis
SKIN CARE
A healthy skin is determined by our life styles, and also by what we eat and drink. Skin that is healthy can also help you make sure that your entire health is much better as well. In addition to boosting yourself confidence, healthy skin is an indicator of a healthy body.
Taking proper care of your skin can do more to enhance your appearance than all the lotions and creams applied to cover up unhealthy skin, it can even help you avoid the rashes and other diseases which necessitate an expensive visit to a dermatologist.
People who use natural skin care products are less concerned with artificial beauty enhancements, as they feel that natural beauty is healthy beauty. So if you want to have a healthy skin, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, reduce stress, sleep well and eat healthy. Stay away from sodas or drinks with caffeine, which dry the skin, use a humidifier to increase the level of moisture in the air, treat your skin right in the winter months and you will have healthy glowing skin to put on show once summer arrives.
A healthy body illustrates healthy looking skin, demonstrating that true beauty starts from within. The skin is the first thing people notice. If it’s healthy and glowing, you look years younger. Unhealthy skin is dry, dull, discolored and losing its youthful glow, making you look years older than you are. The good news is there is a way to reduce the signs of aging without irritation, piercing injections, or daring surgical procedures.
*These Statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.