Anti-Aging Naturally

If you suspect you have exhausted adrenals, the first thing to do is have your cortisol levels, adrenal function and hormone levels checked. If you can’t fall to sleep at night, you are low in melatonin, a sign of high cortisol. If you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night and no matter how you try, you can’t fall asleep again, you most likely have burned out adrenal glands.

The first thing to do in this situation is to see a doctor for hormone balancing with bioidentical hormones. Progesterone will strengthen the adrenal glands. For nutritional supplementation, see a naturopath who will advise you on exactly what supplements you should be taking. They will probably recommend Vitamin B complex Vitamin C in high dosages, an adrenal cortex extract and licorice root.

Nature’s Sunshine makes licorice root supplements and it can be purchased online at Amazon.com

If you find yourself in the situation of burned out adrenal glands, slow down the pace of your life. Find time to relax, rest, meditate. It is okay to continue exercising, but exercise should be at a gentler pace. Yoga, long walks, slowly pace bike rides are great ways to continue exercising.

Licorice Root can also be consumed as a tea. Yogi Organic teas make delicious licorice tea. Read our review here.

A change in diet is also necessary. Avoid refined sugars and caffeine. Caffeine is one of the worst things you can consume in a state of adrenal burnout. Caffeine raises your blood sugar which in turn lowers insulin levels. However, in a state of adrenal burnout, cortisol is no longer available to raise the blood sugar back to normal and a person with this condition will become hypoglycemic and end up with chronic fatigue.

Unsightly varicose veins and spider veins are caused by either heredity, prolonged standing, hormonal changes, pregnancy, aging, and obesity. Up to 60% of North Americans suffer from one of these vein disorders.

These types of vein disorders usually appear in the legs because the legs carry the heavy weight of the body. The veins in the legs endure the most pressure, both gravity and the task of carrying the body around increases the pressure on the veins in the legs. It is the task of the veins, to carry the blood back to the heart from the bottom of the legs. Prolonged standing, hormonal changes, the effects of pregnancy and aging, all make the likelihood of the appearance of varicose and spider veins more likely. Read more

Researchers at King’s College in London have found that Vitamin D may affect the aging process. A study of 2,160 women between the ages of 18 and 79 found that those women in the study with higher levels of Vitamin D exhibited fewer aging related changes in their DNA. Vitamin D is produced during exposure to the sun. It may seem strange that over exposure to the sun can cause of skin cancer, but healthy exposure to the sun can also have a positive effect on the aging process. Low levels of vitamin D have already been connected to multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Read more…

Osteoporosis - Calcium Alone is not Enough

A friend told me she was suffering from osteoporosis and couldn’t understand how she was ingesting so much calcium in supplements and food and it wasn’t helping her situation at all. “I just don’t know where all the calcium is going!” she lamented, telling me that she was drinking so much milk and taking calcium supplements. Read more…

Getting enough fiber in your diet is often difficult and can lead to irregularity. Fibre is beneficial to your intestinal health, but can also help you lose weight, prevent disease and certain types of cancers.

Dietary fibre is found in vegetables, fruits, cereal, seeds and nuts. Fiber acts like a sponge and absorbs some of the cholesterol and fats in our bodies and then gets rid of them. It travels through the entire digestive system without being absorbed. It plays a vital role in our health.

High fiber foods also reduce your appetite by satiating hunger for a longer time period

With all these benefits, people in North America and Europe only eat about 10 grams of fiber per day. Daily recommended intake of fiber is actually30 grams a day. Eating 30 grams of fiber a day increases the benefits to our health. Along with eating this amount of fiber, you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. Since fiber acts like a sponge, it needs to be accompanied by sufficient amount of water to perform effectively.

Ways to Increase Your Fiber Intake:

• Eat the peel from fruits and vegetables when possible.
• Add ¼ cup of wheat germ to recipes requiring breadcrumbs
• Use whole wheat flour when baking muffins, pancakes, cookies and cakes
• Add ground flax seeds to your banana breads, muffins and cakes
• Add dried fruits, fresh fruits or nuts to your yogurt
• Add legumes such as lentils, red beans, black beans, white beans, chick peas and hummous to your meals.
• Use nuts in cereals, muffins and salads
• Each meal plate should consist of 1/3 fruits or vegetables
• Eliminate white bread, and go for rye, multigrain, pumpernickel or whole wheat instead.
• Add wheat bran to your cereal

We know that weight loss after 40 is an extremely difficult task. In fact, it can become an extremely tough battle. For about two years after the age of 40, I struggled with unexplained weight gain and bloating. I felt like a balloon about to explode. I found an anti-aging specialist in Toronto who did a hormone panel including cortisol and thyroid test on me. The end result was a low thyroid, low progesterone, low estrogen, burnt out adrenals and high cortisol for which she prescribed me a medication for the low thyroid, bioidentical hormones and advised me to contact a naturopathic doctor to deal with the low cortisol. By learning what I could and couldn’t eat and an exercise program for this stage of life, I was able to get rid of the bloated feeling, the excess weight, the exhaustion and general malaise.

Fitness over 40. For more information: Click Here

Both women and men gain excess weight around their late 30s to early 40s. For women, this is especially true because it is the body’s attempt to hang onto estrogen. The body begins to make estrogen in the fat stores. This is the reason that women with excess weight do not usually experience menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. Their estrogen levels are high but this can lead to other serious health issues.

Chronic stress, insulin resistance and low thyroid contribute to weight gain. Both men and women should have their thyroid and hormone levels checked. Balancing your hormones, diet and exercise will help you to achieve a healthy weight. Eliminating sugars and refined carbohydrates from your diet will help immensely. Sugar has to become your “Public Enemy Number One”. Diets such as the South Beach diet, The Zone, Suzanne Somers’ diet of food combining or allowing yourself just 78 carbohydrates a day are healthy weight loss solutions. Just make sure those carbohydrates consist of high fiber wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, low fat meat and fish.

In addition to eating healthy foods you need to start, if you haven’t already, an exercise program which you love and enjoy. Do it regularly, whether it’s yoga, biking, hiking, swimming, weight training or Pilates. Exercise strengthens your muscles, fights osteoporosis and burns the fat. Stick with it. It is possible after 40 to maintain your health and weight.

The years after 40 can be the most satisfying and rewarding. Priorities change, perhaps your career changes, your children become more independent. Personal relationships change. This is the time in your life to take charge of your health so you are able to pursue your personal goals and dreams. You can live an active and productive life after 40. This is the time to follow those dreams you have put off because of the responsibilities of child rearing and career building. Your health and maintaining a healthy weight will ensure that you are able to follow those dreams.

What are the best and healthiest anti-aging diets to follow? What should we eat to prevent aging and the diseases that accompany aging? The best diets and the healthiest diets to follow to fight aging include:

The Mediterranean Diet
The Okinwa Diet
The Macrobiotic Diet

The macrobiotic diet, a method of eating that Madonna (who has the energy level and body of a 25 year old) follows is a very healthy diet, rich in phytoestrogens, plant based foods and fish. However, it is a difficult diet to follow in our busy lives unless you have a macrobiotic chef who shops and cooks for you.

The Okinwa diet is a plant based diet with less calories than the average western diet is rich in phytoestrogens. This way of eating will make you feel healthier and look younger no matter what age you actually are. A recent news article on the BBC news site reported that Japanese women live the longest, (click here to read) and their menopausal symptoms are few, if non-existent. The eating plan of the Okinwa diet includes:

Fish – Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, any fresh water fish which is high in Omega-3 fatty acids – known to reduce heart attacks
7 servings of vegetables and fruits
7 servings of whole grains
2 servings of calcium
2 servings of soy products, tofu, soy beans and soy flour
6 glasses of water
6 cups of green tea – which is full of antioxidants – read our article about the health benefits of green tea by clicking here.

The most pleasurable method of eating and also the most researched is the Mediterranean diet. Rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and fish, the diet has been shown to cut the risk of tissue inflammation, lung disease, heart attacks, Alzheimer’s disease, and asthma and respiratory allergies in children. The diet has low levels of sugar, animal fats and nitrates, unlike the western diet which is high in meat, sugar content and processed foods. The Mediterranean style of eating is rich with flavonoids and anti-oxidants.

Foods included in the Mediterranean diet:

Eggs – less than four times per week
Wine – in low to moderate amounts - it is rich in flavonoids with powerful oxidants
Lots of fruits, vegetables, bread, potatoes, beans, nuts, seeds
Olive Oil – a vital monounsaturated fat - known to lower cholesterol levels in the blood
Fish, poultry, dairy products – low to moderate amounts
Goat cheese - a good source of calcium

A Signature Pedicure At Civello Salon Spa.

Getting yourself ready for summer means preparing your feet for open toed sandals and flip flops. I decided to have my first pedicure of the season at Civello’s at 887 Yonge Street, just north of Bloor.

Stepping into Civello’s is like escaping from the city into a serene and peaceful world for a brief moment. There are two floors, the downstairs is where the hair salon is located. Upstairs is like another world. Pebbled floors massage your feet, new age music fills your ears, arched wooden doors to the small rooms where you receive massages, and deep dark wood on the walls surround you. It is a quiet and serene place.

The equipment and footbath are extremely clean. The attendant to my feet wore rubber gloves while she did my feet. From the first soaking, the removing the rough calluses with an amazing tool (I ended up purchasing at the end of my visit), the trimming of the nails and cuticles, the exfoliation, the delightful foot massage, I knew my feet were in good hands. A pedicure at Civello’s is thorough. Civello uses natural products by Aveda. The experience of Civello’s Signature pedicure was so relaxing that in the 45 minute experience, I almost fell asleep. After the trimming, exfoliation and massage, a nail polish of my choice was applied. I chose pink. My feet looked and felt wonderful, ready for the toe baring shoes of summer.

Civello Salon Spa can be found at three other locations in Toronto: 269 Queen Street W. , 145 Lakeshore Rd. E., and 2620 Yonge Street.