Free radical production is a natural occurrence during intense exercise. To prevent free radical damage one needs to eat more free radical scavengers known as "anti-oxidants"beta carotene, other carotenoids, Vitamins C & E, selenium, lycopene, etc. obtained from fresh fruit, vegetables and supplements.
Optimum health is also dependent upon eating adequate high quality protein to produce those immune cells and obtaining enough "Essential Fatty Acids" (EFAs) to produce the super hormones which control all other hormones.
Higher protein requirements for runners are now being recognised by many nutrition coaches. Long distance runners may need more protein than body builders because they tend to "challenge" their bodies at high intensities longer.
Recent studies reported that women who obtained 24 per cent or more of their calories from protein, experienced significantly fewer heart and cardiovascular problems. Also, in a recent issue of the journal "Cancer" it was reported that women on higher protein diets experienced better breast cancer survival rates.
In the same study, contrary to many previous reports, fat intake including saturated fat had no bearing on the results. A study from the University of Buffalo has shown suppressed immune systems during very low fat diets. The American Hear Association has declared that fat intakes below 30 per cent of calories "are unfounded and potentially dangerous". Then there are innumerable studies showing the positive role of essential fatty acids (from nuts, seeds, cold in the prevention of heart disease, cancer and inflammatory conditions. Very low fat diets do not contain enough EFA's.
Better Health
Finances, Relationships and Mental Well-being! The quality of your life is directly related to your standards. A standard is a personal rule or expectation about the level of excellence you require in something, and when you raise your standards you change your life.
Better Health
In my work as a professional coach, I've found that most people haven't taken time to define their standards. Invariably, they've inherited rules from others, leading them to live their lives using someone else's game plan, if you'd like to improve the quality of your life, consider increasing your standards. Your Model of Interaction: Your Model of Interaction dictates how you engage with people, and is related to who you believe you are. If you identify yourself an impatient person, you'll treat others with impatience. If you identify yourself as kind, you'll interact with others in a kind manner. The law of reciprocity dictates that you will receive what you put out into the world. If you find yourself on the receiving end of uncooperative, negative behavior, it might be time to take a look in the mirror. If you already treat the people in your life with warmth and kindness, then you're ahead of the game. Take a moment to define standards for how you'll interact with others. Your Ability to Keep Your Word: Your personal integrity is related to your ability to do what you say you'll do. When you make a commitment, then you fail to follow through, you diminish your credibility and undermine your self confidence. When you follow through on your commitments, your credibility and self esteem increases. The level of faith you have in your own ability to follow through on commitments will directly impact the quality of your life. You'll be much more prepared to take risks when you have a high level of belief in yourself, and your willingness to risk is integral to your ability to tap into your potential. Before you commit to something, make sure it fits within the framework of your life. If it doesn't, don't commit. If you commit, follow through. Set yourself up to win, and believe in your ability to keep your word. He White Space in Your Life: White space is an open playing field. Its uncommitted time. When you define standards to govern how you'll spend your time, the quality of your life increases exponentially. When you include a requirement to schedule uncommitted time, your stress level will decrease exponentially. This supports you in embracing your responsibilities, rather than resenting them. Spend a few. Moments defining a standard to create white space in your life. Your Physical Health and Vitality: Do you like the way that you look and feel? Realise that whatever you might be dissatisfied with is the result of the behavioral standard you've set for yourself. If you want to change your appearance or energy level, it's imperative to define standards of behavior that support your aspirations. Set some standards that guide how you'll care for yourself! Your Financial Position: Your financial reality is directly related to your financial standards. Wealthy people have a different set of behavioral standards than people who struggle financially. What financial realities do you find acceptable? Do you think it's okay to have credit card debt? Do you require yourself to save? Have you established spending norms, or a process to use when making buying decisions? Take a few moments to define your financial standards.
Your Attitude: Your attitude is your disposition or frame of mind. It's how you see the world. In order to create the reality of your dreams, you must believe your dreams are possible. How are you going to approach your life? Will you allow yourself to honestly assess your reality? Will you believe you can impact your life? Will you require yourself to make the improvements required to develop the life of your dreams? Set those standards now. Your Community: Nothing will sabotage your efforts to live a quality life more conclusively than surrounding yourself with people who don't support your standards. The most difficult course you'll navigate as you make life improvements will be terminating relationships with people who aren't equipped to grow with you, and reassuring those who are. Your relationships have the capacity to tear you down or lift you up. Surrounding yourself with people who share similar standards is an incredibly powerful way to create a lifestyle that pulls you toward your highes:: potential. Surrounding yourself with people who don't support your standards will almost surely degenerate the quality of your life. Take a moment to consider the key people in your life. Do they conduct themselves in ways you respect? Do they support you and celebrate your successes? These are the people you should treasure and invest in. If they don't, you may want to reconsider sharing your life with them. What standard will you hold for the people in your life? Your standards act as the framework for your life. Increase your standards, improve your life!
Health and Longevity
All this evidence suggests that as far as one's health is concerned, lifestyle is far more important than body weight. This goes for longevity prospects as well, as the ongoing-- since 1970 Aerobics Centre Longitudinal Study at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, in Dallas, Texas, demonstrates. Data on more than 32,000 men and women indicate that the fittest men and women have the lowest death rates regardless of what they weigh. In other words, a heavier-than-average person who is physically fit has a better chance of living a long life than does a thin couch potato Furthermore, a separate analysis of nearly 10,000 of the men in this study who performed at least two exercise stress tests separated by an average of about 5 years (thereby allowing the researchers to evaluate the impact of changes in physical fitness on subsequent death rates), revealed that improving physical fitness level reduced death rates during the 5+ years of follow-up. Men who were initially classified as unfit (defined as being in the bottom 20 per cent of fitness levels for a given age), but who via increasing physical activity improved their fitness level by the second fitness examination, reduced their mortality rate during the subsequent 5+ years of follow-up by 44 per cent.
Health and Longevity
All this evidence suggests that as far as one's health is concerned, lifestyle is far more important than body weight. This goes for longevity prospects as well, as the ongoing-- since 1970 Aerobics Centre Longitudinal Study at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, in Dallas, Texas, demonstrates. Data on more than 32,000 men and women indicate that the fittest men and women have the lowest death rates regardless of what they weigh. In other words, a heavier-than-average person who is physically fit has a better chance of living a long life than does a thin couch potato Furthermore, a separate analysis of nearly 10,000 of the men in this study who performed at least two exercise stress tests separated by an average of about 5 years (thereby allowing the researchers to evaluate the impact of changes in physical fitness on subsequent death rates), revealed that improving physical fitness level reduced death rates during the 5+ years of follow-up. Men who were initially classified as unfit (defined as being in the bottom 20 per cent of fitness levels for a given age), but who via increasing physical activity improved their fitness level by the second fitness examination, reduced their mortality rate during the subsequent 5+ years of follow-up by 44 per cent.
Most significant in terms of the weight debate was the fact that the improved longevity prospects were not at all dependent upon weight loss. Results from the ongoing Harvard Alumni Study provide similar results: Sedentary Harvard alums who increased their level of physical activity experienced a 23 per cent reduction in all-cause mortality rate. Because alums who lost weight were no better off health wise than those who did not lose weight, the reduction in all-cause death rate observed in the more physically active men was in no way attributable to slimming down.
