The Top 5 SuperFoods for Increased Energy & Total Health

The Top 5 SuperFoods for Increased Energy & Total Health

Stop taking petroleum-chemical-based vitamin and mineral supplements and start eating these super-concentrated, nutrient-rich foods.

What are “SuperFoods”?

SuperFoods have the ability to tremendously increase your energy levels, they boost the immune system, elevate serotonin levels, enhance sexuality, and promote the cleansing, and alkalizing of the body.

Superfoods correct our imbalances and bring us back in touch with our original diets.
These foods provide our vitamin and mineral requirements and exceed all our protein, essential fatty acids and our immune system requirements and much more.

SuperFoods can Reduce your Food Cravings and Your Weight

Consuming superfoods provides the pathway to Diet-Free, effortless weight loss, increased energy levels, and beautiful skin & nails. As you eat these foods, your cravings for junk foods and sweets will also subside. But don’t worry there are lots of SuperFood dessert recipes so that you never have to feel like you are being deprived.

#1 – Cacao (Raw Chocolate)

Cacao Nibs - Raw Chocolate - Fit Women Over 40

Cacao Nibs – Raw Chocolate

Cacao has the highest antioxidant levels (10%) of any food on the planet. RAW Chocolate is healthy if it is dark with no added dairy products, milk or refined sugar. When milk and sugar are added to the mix, the super antioxidants are cancelled out. Studies indicate that dairy products specifically block the absorption of all the great antioxidants in raw chocolate!

Cacao is a rich source of anandamide (the bliss chemical). Anandamide makes us feel euphoric and happy. Raw Chocolate balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, has high magnesium levels which are great for the heart, is a natural aphrodisiac, elevates your mood and energy, and can slow your aging.

As we age, the level of neurotransmitters decreases, leading to physical rigidity, less creativity, less joy, and more aging. Cacao is a MAO inhibitor that allows more neurotransmitters to remain in the bloodstream, hence it slows your aging.


Goji Berries, a SupperFood

Goji Berries, a SuperFood

#2 – Goji Berries

Used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years, goji berries are regarded
as a longevity, strength-building, high potency food source. Compared to blueberries, Goji berries contain twice the amount of antioxidants as blueberries, four times the amount in red raspberries, ten times compared to grapes. They are considered as the best nutritional fruit in the world. The berries are similar to olive oil with its unique ratio of omega oils 3,6 and 9 as well as essential fatty acids.
Gram for gram, goji berries pack more vitamin C than some oranges and more beta-carotene than carrots. This superfood contains 18 kinds of amino acids, all 8 essential amino acids, up to 21 trace minerals, high amounts of antioxidants, iron, polysaccharides, B & E vitamins, and many other nutrients.


#3 Chia Seeds

Super Foods - Chia Seeds - Fit Women over 40

Super Foods – Chia Seeds

Chia seeds contain 16% protein, 38% fiber and 31% fat, most of which is the essential omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid. These edible seeds also contain high amounts of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.

Originally cultivated by the Aztecs and Mayans, their warriors would carry the seeds as their food source which have twice the protein of any other seed or grain. They also contain five times the calcium that milk has, as well as boron which is trace mineral that helps transfer calcium into your bones, omega 3 and omega 6 which are essential oils for the body.

When the seeds are dropped in water their shells open forming a gel that will absorb up to nine times its volume in water. This Chia Seed Gel is 90% soluble fiber, which helps keep your body hydrated and your digestive tract clear. The soluble fiber in the gel forms a wall between carbohydrates and the body, releasing them slowly into the body. This has been found to be very helpful for people who have trouble controlling their sugar levels like Diabetics.

The seeds won’t change the taste of food or drinks, but it increases the volume up to 75%. As the carbohydrates are released slowly you will get the feeling of being full, so many dieters use the seeds as a way to control their appetites.

Spirulina, the blue algae, super food - Fit Women Over 40

Spirulina, the blue algae, super food

#4 – Spirulina and Blue-Green Algae

Spirulina, a type of blue-green algae is a wild-grown superfood, that is rich in vegetable protein, (3~4 times higher than fish or beef ), vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids, antioxidants and high volumes of gamma-Linoleic acid (which can reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease). With over 100 nutrients, and the world’s highest source of complete protein (65%), Spirulina is often described as the most complete food source in the world.

For centuries this algae has constituted a significant part of the diet of many South American & African communities. This food met all protein requirements for millions of people in Mexico for over 5,000 years.

NASA plans to grow Spirulina in it’s space station and some Japanese seniors have lived only on Spirulina and water for more than 20 years showing how good is Spirulina for the human body.

Spirulina is not a medicine, but when used as a supplementary food source, you can avoid nutrient deficiencies that will in turn give you a better chance of staying healthy and avoiding illnesses.

Eating too many animal proteins, such as beef, or pork leads to it being deposited in our body as fat. Too much fat may impact our heart and blood vessels and will cause high cholesterol levels.

A vegetable protein such as Spirulina is water soluble. If you eat too much vegetable protein, it is simply discharged by your system as waste and not stored as fat.

Spirulina is a “living food”. Use it daily to nourish and treat your skin inside and out. Add one teaspoon of Spirulina powder to your raw fruit smoothies.

Before enjoying your anti-aging healthy tonic drink, take out a couple of tablespoons and apply to your face. For best results leave on for 15-20 minutes. Then rinse off and tone and moisturize for a healthy glowing skin. Continue the treatment for three weeks and notice the difference in how you feel and look.

Raw Maca Powder - A Nutrient Rich SuperFood

Raw Maca Powder – A Nutrient Rich SuperFood

#5 – Maca

Maca is in the radish, broccoli, cauliflower brassica family and is also known as Peruvian ginseng. It’s the highest altitude crop in the world, grown high in the Andes Mountains in Peru for over 2,000 years. Indigenous Peruvians have been cultivating raw maca root powder and have understood its health properties long before the Western world discovered it.

This very unique oily root vegetable is a nutrient rich superfood that contains over 10% protein, 20 fatty acids, and 20 different amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B12 and B1 & B2, vitamin C as well as many other vitamins and minerals. Maca is an adaptogen that is able to identify stress or weaknesses in our bodies endocrine system and then use healing properties to give you back your vitality and revive your system.

Raw Maca Powder contributes to our overall well-being and also contains over 55 different active phytochemicals and natural sterols. These phytochemicals are why people taking raw Maca Powder experience increased energy levels, happiness, improved libido and fertility as well as stamina.

It supports the body’s systems to reduce adrenal stress to bring our bodies back in to balance. Although maca is not a complete protein it is such a great source of hormone precursors and amino acids, that it provides many of the same effects created by a high-protein diet. Due to the high levels of naturally occurring plant sterols, It’s used by bodybuilders and athletes who want a natural alternative to anabolic steroids.

When you put this powder in to your body it works in tandem with the body’s natural rhythms to help rebuild weak immune systems, re-mineralize poorly nourished bodies, and increase energy and endurance. Maca Powder is a food and is safe to use on a regular, long-term basis. Add at least 1 tablespoon of maca root powder per day to smoothies, meals or even fruit juices to get best results. Maca Powder is non-toxic, non-addictive and has no documented side-effects.

How to Eat Superfoods

Superfoods should be consumed raw. 150 years of research has now demonstrated that living, raw food is superior in vitamin content, enzymes,co-enzymes, usable protein, usable minerals, glyconutrients, and many other elements of nutrition. Raw is how Nature provides us with food. Any superfood can be added into anyone’s diet. Simply discover what you like and eat them regularly.

Paleo Works, but only if you do it

Paleo Works, but only if you do it

“Paleo works, but only if you do it”, says Robb Wolf

one of the leading authorities on the Paleo Solution, the Original Human Diet. One of the questions I can imagine “healthy” people might ask ( like I did) is why do I need to this “diet” and what will the benefits be for me? I actually asked my Cross Fit trainer, Mauricio that very question this morning and here’s what he had to say.

A Paleo Breakfast

He is a very healthy 20 something male and he noticed right away a big increase in his energy level and not bonking at mid-day like he used to. Also he hasn’t been sick with a cold or allergies in a very long time and he has been able to do more training then he used.

Personally I am in the category where I adhere to 80% of the diet and so I actually get about 95% of the benefit that Paleo has to offer. And the benefits can add up very fast.

Let’s take a look at where you should start.

1. Clean out the Pantry
We do not have self-control. PLAN AHEAD! Don’t have tempting foods in the house. Remove the bread, rice, pasta, cookies, crackers, puddings, ice cream, waffles, juice, sodas, cereals, oatmeal, artificial sweeteners, yogurt, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, canned soups, apple sauce, noodles…all refined, packaged foods. Bag it all up, take it to a food bank or homeless shelter.

2. Go shopping
Now it’s time to fill your cupboards with food worth eating.

Buy Protein. Ideally these options are grass fed or wild caught. If you cannot find those should you eat a bagel? No! Beans and rice do NOT count as protein. Pork, beef, lamb. Trout, salmon, shrimp, crab. Chicken, turkey, duck. Round things out with some good quality bacon, omega-3 enriched eggs and some items like chicken apple sausage to help you with breakfast on busy days.

Garden Fresh Strawberry

Visit a Farmer’s Market to get Local Veggies. Shop with the season, which typically means what is on sale. Mix up the colors, lots of orange, red, and greens.

Fruit. Limit fruit to 1 serving per day if fat loss is your goal. In order of preference: Berries, melons, citrus, apples, pears. Bananas, papayas and mangoes are great for athletes post workout but not for folks who want to lose weight.

Fats. Olive oil (extra virgin) coconut, avocado (oil and whole), macadamia (whole and oil), almonds, walnuts.
If fat loss is a goal limit nuts to 1-2 oz. per day.

Spices, Herbs and such. Marinara sauce, herbs, spices-curry powder, garlic, ginger, cilantro, garam massala, chili powder, black pepper, lemon zest, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, and basil. Get at least 20 herbs and spices to keep your cooking lively. Stock up on espresso, teas and mineral water as these are your beverages of choice.

Paleo Lunch

A Typical Paleo Lunch

3. Cook! The majority of your meals will look something like this: 4-8 oz of lean protein such as chicken, lean beef, turkey, pork loin or seafood.
Several servings of vegetables, either raw, steamed, or lightly cooked. Finally, round out the meal with good fats from Avocado, olive oil or a handful of un-salted nuts such as almonds, pecans, macadamias or walnuts. A lot of meals start looking the same, but everything can taste great with just a few variations.

Check out this Paleo Recipe Vault with Mouth Watering Meals.

Key points to remember:
• Eat Protein every meal and 3-4 meals per day. Eating protein with each meal I found reduces my cravings for more food then I need. • Beverages are coffee, tea, mineral water. Unsweetened, this includes stevia.

If fat loss is a goal: Limit fruit to 1 serving & Limit nuts to 1-2 oz and EXERCISE!

4. Go for a Walk or a Run or go do Cross Fit, Just Move that Body!
You were born with a certain set of genetics from your parents and all of us have genes that are meant to be active. Really active. The Center for Disease Control lists “INACTIVITY” as the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

How your genes “experience” the world thru sleep, food, exercise etc, influences how those genes are turned on or off and this determines your phenotype. If you were analyzed for disease potential when you are a “Sedentary Person” vs. an “Active Person” your genes would look totally different. You are literally a different person when you exercise vs. when you do not.

So, Get outside and move. Gauge your fitness level and act accordingly. If you need help, find a trainer or coach.

5. Sleep! Black out your room. No, REALLY black out your room. No LED lights from alarm clocks, fire alarms, TV’s etc. Do not watch TV or check email for at least 1 hour before bed. Go to bed early, get at least 8-9 hrs of sleep. You should wake up without an alarm, feeling refreshed.

6. Get Your Blood Work done. So you will have some metrics to show you that Paleo is actually working on your insides, go to your doctor or clinic and order your blood work. I get mine down every year and its a fairly simple process. Read Robb’s book or ask your doctor what all of the different aspects of the blood work mean. But mainly you will be comparing your LDL Cholesterol (Bad) vs. HDL Cholesterol (Good)  levels, your Triglycerides, which are a measure of your circulating blood fats, Glucose levels, Glycated hemoglobin ( or A1C), which is a measure of how much sugar is sticking to your red blood cells,  and C-reactive protein or CRP is a marker of systemic inflammation.

Use your blood work as a starting point for your Paleo diet changes and then get tested again in a month or 2 to really see the overall effect your food choices and exercise regime are having on your health.

What is NOT allowed on Paleo:

Paleo-snack-apples

Fuji Apples and Cinnamon – Paleo Snack

• Grains: bread, rice, cereal, pasta, corn, gluten-free pseudo grains
• Sugar or sugar substitutes: maple syrup, honey, agave, stevia, sucralose, etc.
• Alcohol: sorry aficionados, beer is maltose is sugar; wine is fructose
• Legumes: beans, peanuts/peanut butter, lentils, soybeans (yes, this means tofu), peas
• Dairy: milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, whey

 If you must have some “Cheat Foods”:
• I’d recommend one small square of dark chocolate per day

What about Alcohol? Don’t take away my drinking, you say?

Well even the Paleo King, Robb Wolf admits to having a “Paleo Margarita” occasionally. The drink consists of 2 shots of tequila gold, Juice from 1 lime and a splash of seltzer water. Its quite good actually.

Much of the problem with drinking is not the alcohol but the sugar that comes with it. A “typical” margarita or vodka & tonic would be loaded with sugar. Beer is loaded with gluten and has a significant sugar content. As for wine, opt for the dry varieties as they have less sugar.

But as with anything moderation is key and alcohol is NOT Paleo. If you must drink, imbibe earlier in the evening as far away from bedtime as possible. Alcohol turns off your growth hormone release which is Not good for your health, recovery or body composition. So if you are wondering why your fat reducing is not working cut out drinking for a month and see what happens.

 

 

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Robb Wolf’s 30 Day Total Transformation – Interactive eBook Guide

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Want to Get Fit? Choose the Right Fitness Plan

Want to Get Fit? Choose the Right Fitness Plan

Backsquats at boot camp

Backsquats at boot camp

If you want to lose weight, stop doing your 5 mile runs or your hour-long treadmill sessions and replace them with high-intensity interval training or Cross Fit training instead.

One of the reasons why people continue to struggle with their weight despite engaging in regular exercise is because they’re not doing the right kind of exercise! Studies have confirmed that exercising in shorter bursts with rest periods in between burns more fat than exercising continuously for an entire session.

By doing Cross Fit or another high intensity workout, such as TRX Training, you can cut the duration of your exercise session in half and still burn fat! One study showed you can burn more fat exercising for 20 minutes than for 40 minutes. In the study, women either exercised for 20 minutes, alternating 8 seconds of sprinting on a bike with 12 seconds of exercising lightly, or exercised at a regular pace for 40 minutes. After exercising three times a week for 15 weeks, those who did the 20-minute, alternating routine lost three times as much fat as the other women.

This type of exercise works because it produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, the so called “fight-or-flight” hormones, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin and within your muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation is thought to drive the increased weight loss.

High Intensity Exercise Increases Growth Hormone Production

The higher your levels of Human growth hormone (HGH), also called “the fitness hormone”, the healthier and stronger you will be. After age 30, your levels of human HGH begin to drop off quite dramatically, this is called “somatopause and leads to the dreaded “middle age spread”. Maintaining your HGH levels is increasingly important as you age. You will experience vibrant health and strength the longer you can keep your body producing higher levels of HGH.

You must engage your super fast muscle fibers in order to naturally increase your body’s production of HGH. Regular aerobic cardio such as running only works your slow muscle fibers, and can impede natural HGH production by causing your super fast fibers to atrophy from lack of use. Only high-intensity power burst cardio training, such as Cross Fit exercises, TRX Training or others, will engage your super fast fibers and promote HGH production.

The Benefits of Strength Training

Women tend to avoid exercises that will increase muscle mass, but carrying more muscle has many health benefits, including:
• Improved blood circulation
• Increased metabolism
• Increased bone density
• Increased energy
• Decreased body fat
• Improved posture
• Increased range of motion
• Increased body functions

Strength training is recommended for women of all ages, including seniors. Retaining your skeletal muscles is one of the most critical elements of human fitness to keep you strong, functional and healthy. Your muscles also help regulate glucose and lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, which protect you against obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Cross Fit and high-intensity interval training which have intense speed and power exercises trigger a mechanism in your muscles that actually promotes muscle growth.

TRX Suspension Training - Total Body Workout

TRX Suspension Training – Total Body Workout

Exercise Slows Down Your Aging

Exercise also has other anti-aging benefits such as it can prevent or delay the onset of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and osteoporosis, which are all common ailments associated with advancing age.

Also, if you can control the aging process inside your cells, as one anti-aging theory suggests, you should be able to control your rate of aging. Telomeres are part of your chromosomes which are inside each of your body’s cells. When your cells divide, these telomeres shorten and when they get to a certain level you will die of old age.

Exercise can not affect the telomere shortening process, but it can be accelerated by an unhealthy lifestyle. Exercise plays an important part in the prevention of aging. So, lack of exercise, obesity, stress, and smoking, all cause production of free radicals that speed up cells splitting and the telomere shortening process.


Need more ideas for Cooking Healthy Meals, then check out: The Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook The Healthy Urban Kitchen is a simple, step by step system for shopping, cooking and eating the world’s healthiest foods. It was created for busy people who want to improve health, have more energy, and prevent disease.

The High Fructose Corn Syrup Story

The High Fructose Corn Syrup Story

Ear of corn on plant

Have you seen the ads by the agribusiness public relations departments describing high-fructose corn syrup as “healthy” and “all-natural”?

According to the Corn Refiners Association, high-fructose corn syrup contains the same amount of calories as cane and beet sugar, is metabolized by the body the same way as these sweeteners are, and is an all-natural product.
So why are the Corn Refiners Association, spending up to $30 million to convince consumers it’s inherently safe to eat?

There is something missing from these ads if they are defending corn syrup as a natural, healthy, and safe sweetener.

Even more alarming is when the American Medical Association issued a statement explaining that “high-fructose syrup does not appear to contribute more to obesity than other caloric sweeteners” … but of course they qualified it by adding that they also said that “consumers [should] limit the amount of all added caloric sweeteners to no more than 32 grams of sugar daily.” Most sodas contain about 40 grams of high-fructose corn syrup.

Why High Fructose Corn Syrup IS Worse For You than Sugar

According to Dr. Elizabeth Parks, associate professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and lead author of a recent study on fructose in the Journal of Nutrition:

“Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose. Once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it’s hard to slow it down. The bottom line of this study is that fructose very quickly gets made into fat in the body.”

So if you need to lose weight, or if you want to avoid diabetes and heart disease, fructose is one type of sugar you’ll want to avoid, particularly in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

HFCS metabolizes to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar, making it the worst sugar you can eat. One of the best things you can do right away is to STOP drinking soda and processed fruit juices that are sweetened with about eight teaspoons of fructose per serving! Switch to pure water as your beverage of choice.


Read the Paleo Solution for more detailed information. >>

Need more ideas for Cooking Healthy Meals, then check out: The Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook The Healthy Urban Kitchen is a simple, step by step system for shopping, cooking and eating the world’s healthiest foods. It was created for busy people who want to improve health, have more energy, and prevent disease.

Robb Wolf’s 30 Day Total Transformation – Interactive eBook Guide

The End of Overeating: Sugar, Fat & Salt

The End of Overeating: Sugar, Fat & Salt

The End of Overeating: Sugar, Fat & Salt
A Book Review

There is a new book out called: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler, MD

David Kessler is a former FDA commissioner who reinvented the food label and tackled the tobacco industry, and now has taken on the food industry. He explains how the food industry has hijacked our brains into overeating when we consume foods that contain sugar, fat & salt. He goes on to say that since the 1980’s the food industry has created products that stimulate our appetites into a cycle of desire and over consumption. He explains why its difficult for people to resist certain foods and why its so easy to over consume.

Millions of people struggling with weight loss, are having their brains manipulated by everything from brand advertisers to fast food super sizes, to chain restaurant foods filled with sugar, fats and salt.

He says that the food industry has been remarkably successful at designing foods to capture the attention of people who have lost control of their eating habits and are totally at the mercy of food. Food designers, food manufacturers and restaurants all understand that sugar, fat & salt added to foods makes a juicy meal that many people simply can’t resist. There’s not a short of people who lack control around such targeted foods and not all of them are overweight. Many people don’t have eating disorders that we’ve all heard about, but for a lot of these people food and eating and over indulging is never far from their minds.

For thousands of years, our bodies were the perfect biological systems, then in the 1980’s, something happened. A senior researcher at the Center for Disease Control noticed an alarming trend. She found through a government survey on health and nutritional status that the number of people who were overweight had spiked dramatically. What had caused this phenomenon? Well by the 1980’s we had larger portion sizes, more chain restaurants, and convienence stores and a culture that promoted going out to eat. But he says that still didn’t answer the question of why we overeat?

Those people that can’t stop eating literally spend billions of dollars a year trying to find a cure to their weight loss. Those in search of a weight loss formula are wasting most of their money for a short weight loss cure that they hope will last. We all know that it basicly comes down to people get fat because they eat more than people who are lean. Apparently some people are still denying this or are confused about it, but we have strong evidence to prove that this is true.

Here is what the food industry knows and doesn’t tell you. “Higher sugar, fat, and salt make you want to eat more”, says a high-level food industry executive who didn’t want to be named. They make it indulgent and hedonistic so that it has a high pleasure value. Restaurants where Americans spend 50% of their food dollars have introduced countless new foods with high hedonistic values. Everything from Potato skins to Cheese fries, a high fat food with more fat layered on top of it, to Buffalo wings, the fatty part of chicken which are then deep fried and served with a sweet dipping sauce that’s heavily salted. Chicken tenders are the worst because I know many Mom’s gives their kids these “unidentified fried object”, loaded with batter and fat and then fried with salt and sugar added. And the list goes on and on.

Dr. Kessler observes that the food industry is “the manipulator of the consumers’ minds and desires.”

To order this book: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler, MD

Need more ideas for Cooking Healthy Meals, then check out: The Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook The Healthy Urban Kitchen is a simple, step by step system for shopping, cooking and eating the world’s healthiest foods. It was created for busy people who want to improve health, have more energy, and prevent disease.