Be Fit. Be Fabulous. Be Free!

Wow!  The February 25th, Health and Happiness Summit hosted by Dr. Oz and Usana Health Sciences was incredible!  They pulled together myriad people with varying expertise and there was so much information it was staggering!  My pen couldn't keep up with it all.  But, I have compiled the highlights I was able to take down and catagorized them by speaker.  the real point every speaker made was that we are responsible for our health and that we all can choose to make simple changes that will have a big impact!  For instance... don't reheat in plastic, use all natural, non-fluoridated toothpaste, increase your fiber intake, get 8 hours of sleep a night, fill half of your dinner plate with veggies.... and so much more!  I have highlighted a few things each speaker talked about below--and tried to give you websites or books so you can delve deeper if you are interested in learning more.

Read on!

Lisa Oz
www.healthcorps.net
www.lisaoz.com
Lisa gave us information about HealthCorps, a proactive health movement co-founded by Dr.  Oz and  Lisa, to fight obesity and the mental resilience crisis by getting American students and communities across the country to take charge of their health. 

Dr. Oz

www.doctoroz.com
Dr. Oz outlined right away what we need to do to get on a healthy course!  He said, first of all, we need awareness.  We need to be aware of where we are at--and then take action!  It isn't just knowing--it is taking action.  We have to acknowledge where we are and understand our limiting beliefs--the ones that sabotage our efforts to get healthy.  Just knowing where we are at isn't enough--we have to actually change!!!  Duh!  Though of course, we all tend to get stuck and give lip service to our unhealthy habits.  He  also made the point that if we decide to lose 100 pounds, run a marathon and only eat raw veggies--we are more likely to fail.  He is a proponent of small  (do-able) steps.  Choose something you CAN DEFINITELY do today, and build on it once it is firmly established!  He also made the point that we need a purpose--something or someone that motivates us.  Do you want to get healthy so you will be here to walk your daughter down the aisle?  Do you want to get healthy so you can play with your grandchildren?  Connect with a bigger purpose!

"We can't change everything, but we can change something!"

       

Dr. Michael Breus (the Sleep Doctor)

www.thesleepdoctor.com

Dr. Breus gave a lot more detail than I was able to write down about the 5 sleep cycles of 90 minutes each we go through during the night.  During last third of night we enter REM sleep which is the mentally restorative sleep.  During REM sleep, we move information from short term to long term memory.  So--can't remember why you walked into a room?  Can't find your keys?  Get more sleep!

He also pointed out--more calories are burned during REM sleep!   That will motivate me to get to bed!!!

Basically--Bad sleep leads to Bad health.

o   Weight gain

o   Increase pain

o   High blood pressure

o   Decreased immune function

o   Don’t problem solve as well

Getting a consistent 8 hours of sleep = looking 3 years younger, and who among us doesn't want to look 3 years younger???

5 things that help you achieve good sleep:

1.      Select one bedtime and stick with it

2.      Stop caffeine by 2pm

3.      Limit alcohol 3 hours before bed

4.      Limit exercise 4 hours before bed

5.      Get 15 minutes of sunshine every day

Who knew sleep was SO important!  You can google Dr. Breus and see that he has several books out that will give you even more information.

Dr. Rovenia Block, nutritionist & weight lost guru

www.everythingro.com
Did you know that 72% of Americans are obese and 1 in 3 kids are obese???  Whew... we, as a nation, had better get on a better diet!

Dr. Ro suggested to change our health we have to change our mind about food and how we eat.  And I want to point out, that I have been telling people for years that 50% of your dinner plate should be veggies, 25% of your plate should be lean protein and 25% of your plate should be whole grains---which is what Dr. Ro told us!  (I got that right!)

She gave us a few ideas for weight loss, including:

• Increase your fiber intake
• Increase water
• 2-3 cups of roasted dandelion tea helps you burn fat 25% faster.
• Eat 3-4 pineapple spears a day to improve liver function and help burn fat faster.

Ok, Dr. Ro--I am hot on your tips!

Dr. Nicholas Perricone

www.perriconemd.com

Dr. Perricone talked about the effects of what we choose to eat. We all want to look our best--actually we all want to look better than our best!  We want to look younger, slimmer and sexier all the way around.   The food we eat and the lifestyle we have effect our skin and our energy and our general health! 

Can't afford a face lift?  No problem!  Find your “facelift” in the refrigerator—it's all about what you eat.  Here is his prescription:

For 3 days:

·        No sugar or starches

·        Lots of water

·        Eat salmon for protein

·        Eat watercress salad—detoxes the liver, use olive oil and lemon juice for dressing

·        Eat blueberries-antioxidents

OK--I am hot on this diet this week!  I'll let you know how much younger I look next week!

Back to Dr. OZ

For Ideal health:

·        Your blood pressure should be 115/75

·        Exercise 30 minutes a day

·        Eat a healthy diet that you love

·        Have stress control

·        No smoking

•   Get 25g of fiber every day.

•   To help control eating, have a handful of nuts ½ hour before a meal.

“Prevention is making it easy to do the right thing!”

1 in 3 Americans have prediabetes or diabetes.

High fiber slows the transit of food, which increases satiety.

Success is forgetting you are on a program!

Dr. Myron Wentz and Dave Wentz:

www.healthilee.usana.com for supplement, weight-loss, skin care, business

www.myhealthyhome.com for environmental health info

Dr. Wentz and Dave talked about environmental health.  It is amazing to me the things I don't know!    Actually they covered so much information--I am sure I only caught a percentage of it in my notes.  I will have to finish reading their book, The Healthy Home--which I recommend to all of you.

One thing they talked about is EMF's or electromagnetic fields.  We can't see, taste or feel it, but we are barraged with electromagnetic radiation every night when we go to bed!  From the alarm clock to the Wi-Fi- router to the cell phone on our night stand and even our lamps are giving off EMF's.  Several studies support the existence of adverse non-thermal effects from ELF fields and others have revealed an assoication with childhood cancer.   Remember when there was so much news about the effects of living near an electric power plant?  This is the kind of thing that is easy to ignore... the effects are so subtle and slow... until you actually have  a diagnosed disease that is.... Why take the risk?  What do you do about it?  Move things further from your bed.  Clear your nightstand of any gadgets that you don't NEED there.  Get a down comforter instead of an electric blanket!

Another place they looked at was the bathroom--and Fluoride.  Did you know that the FDA began requiring a warning on toothpaste back in the 90's for fluoride?  That swallowing it can be fatal?  Read the label on your tube--you might be surprised!  Dr. Wentz recommends brushing with a nonfluoride toothpaste, flossing and scraping your tongue instead of using fluoride!  And while we are on the subject of teeth...

All of those silver fillings in your mouth are actually made of mercury.  Everytime you chew or drink hot liquids you release vapors of mercury--the most toxic radioactive metal on planet earth--into your mouth!!!  Help!  The tiniest amount of mercury absorbed by the body-can damage cells, tissues, and organs.   And, mercury has a high affinity for nerve cells and readily enters the brain.  Now personally, once you tell me those silver fillings are not silver, but mercury,  even I can figure out that a toxic heavy metal does NOT belong in my mouth.  You can have them removed by a biological dentist trained to deal with this poison and replaced with biocompatible fillings.

In the kitchen Dave reminds us to get rid of plastic containers, in favor of glass storage containers.  And, NEVER microwave in plastic or foam containers!  Heating, microwaving, washing in the dishwasher, and prolonged contact with fatty foods will damage plastic enough to allow dangerous chemicals to leach out! Oh, and speaking of styrofoam containers, a study by Louisianna State University showed that eggs, still in the shells, stored in styrofoam containers for two weeks exhibited up to SEVEN times more ethylbenzene and styrene than eggs fresh from the farm.  Well, I have had enough chemistry (and I even remember some of it!) to know that they are both suspected carcinogins!  So... move the leftovers you bring home in a foam or plastic container from the restaurant, immeadiately to a glass container when you get home from eating out, and only buy your eggs in cardboard containers.  An easy way to make a small change.

Ok, that was a ton in information ...but truly, there was even more!  You now have many websites and books you can go to for more information.  Happy reading!