3/03/2014
Fixer Upper
I read a lot about health and fitness, exercising and the things your suppose to do right by your body.
Attention being what it is, sometimes my mind drifts, more often than not after having to pull a few allnighters.. that inevitably turn into all week allnighters.
Well, February was one of those unending nights.. and now its time to set some things right again.
In a way its a good thing because it throws me out of my mind space and to get back in I have to self assess and study the "airlock" as it were to let myself back in.. its not as simple as "Open the Pod Bay Doors Hal.." or "Open Says Me.."
To wit..
Supplements, what am I currently taking and consider of value?
That's a good question and one that needs examination from time to time.
I read a few web sources like Examine.com and Bloodsugar101.com which currently say the most common things are found deficit in with no regards to special cases or diseases are Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2 and some way of controlling or avoiding sugar.
It kind of goes without saying as well that we're all Calcium deficient, Magnesium deficient and don't really try to moderate high calorie foods with fiber at the same time.. we've drifted into large portions to give us that stuffed bulk feeling without mixing in the fiber.. partially out of guilt.. and the "clean your plate" way of thinking.
So I've generally tried to start my day with a small portion of high calorie Mixed Nuts and water.. followed by a huge Salad at lunch topped with chicken. And then some kind of low carb final meal of the day.
To my way of thinking Carbs.. if you must should be consumed early in the day.. and preferably mixed in with a lot of non-digestible fiber.. or not at all. And if its a dessert, only after the meal has partially insulated you and our digestive system has begun to shun more calories.. what is they say about sleep.. the most important part comes first? I tend to think that way about eating.. vitamins and minerals, proteins and fats first.. then the optional.. high cholesterol spiking sugars.
And while I wail about Carbs.. only with lots of pure water.. our kidney's need a break when trying to flush all that gunk out of our systems.. have a heart.. please.
I just don't see anything biologically beneficial from pure raw sugars these days.. they are sweet,, addictive.. and brain numbing.. I would never say I don't eat them.. but they are a handicap.. more of a burden when you think about what they are doing to us.
We have enzymes and feedback loops to handle and shun excess fat consumption.. but we're as transparent as glass when you pour raw sugar into our guts.. in a way we have to be.. unfortunately we're not good filter paper either.. anything that looks like glucose chemically tends to pour straight into the blood stream. Its really scary how fast sugar can raise blood glucose and crowd out anything else like vitamins, minerals, proteins, blood cells.. the molarity of the blood stream is finite and mechanical.. if you stuff it with something useless.. you by default choke off everything else.. empty calories my foot! They are anything but "empty" they fill our arteries and veins to "bursting" levels like motor oil in a fuel line. Its no wonder blood pressure rises after dessert.
So exercise.. yeah I do that.. for stress relief as much as anything else. But its hard not to wimp out and go run on the track or do cardio.. another "vice".. cardio is "easy" you can build up a sweat and feel you've accomplished something pretty quickly.. but from what I've read its really "not that good for you.." especially the older you get. Amping up the AMPK in our cells tends to prevent muscle recovery and "slim" you down not just from fat loss.. but real muscle loss too.. which is scary. Rather load bearing exercise seems to be more healthy, just not as fun. And enough that it isn't just "stunt lifting" but real work.
As for what to do about muscle and bone loss as we get older. In my case I've had some success with following Doctors orders.. taking Calcium supplements.. taking whey and taking some Creatine.
Some recent interests include Niagen the NADH+ booster and B6 or p5p.. and for older folks it seems MethylCobamin and Folate are just so neglected.. we forget about them.
Ultimately I'd like to investigate Alpha Lipoic Acid and L-Cartinine and if my blood sugars ever warrant it from my Doctor Metformin and Acarbose.
Well that's whats up with me.