When it comes to healthy aging and exercise, most people think of jogging, endless steps on the elliptical, or hopping on a stationary bike and riding to nowhere. But if cardio is all you’re doing, you’re missing out on a critical component for healthy aging and disease prevention: weight training. Weight training stimulates increased production and recruitment of key anabolic hormones – namely human growth hormone (HGH), testosterone, and DHEA – that are essential for optimal aging processes and health. Who’s Doing What at the Gym Take a look around when you go to the gym: Typically, the older folks are the ones doing most of the cardio, while the younger people are the ones in the weight room pumping iron. If you’re becoming one of the cardio only people, … Read More
How To Treat High Cholesterol The Natural Way
How To Treat High Cholesterol The Natural Way When you hit your mid-30s, your cholesterol levels may be in for a change. Your “bad” cholesterol (low density lipoprotein, or LDL) may start to rise and your “good” cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, or HDL) may start to drop. The Status Quo Doctors often reflexively treat these changes to prevent cholesterol-related heart issues. They do this by administering drugs called statins, which block an enzyme essential for cholesterol production, thereby lowering cholesterol in the blood. Sounds like a great, simple solution, doesn’t it? But while cholesterol levels do drop after statins are taken, a host of side effects may come along for the ride. Among the most significant of these side effects: statins also block the production of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an … Read More
Cholesterol: The Good, the Bad, and the REALLY Bad
Cholesterol: Good, Bad, or Neither? For decades, cholesterol has suffered a bad rap because of its connection to heart attacks and coronary disease. The story started with studies conducted on rabbits in the early 1900s. Russian scientists induced clogging of rabbits’ arteries by replacing their normal vegetarian diet with a diet of pure cholesterol. Putting aside for a moment that rabbits (obviously) aren’t people, and that their diets are very different than the average American (i.e. they don’t eat meat), the cultural and medical effects of the study were profound. Doctors accepted the resulting “lipid hypothesis” (i.e. that cholesterol led to heart disease) and began to recommend low-cholesterol diets. Gone were the days of eating animal fat and chicken with the skin on; egg whites replaced whole eggs, and high … Read More