An experimental eating regime may slow aging and stave off disease

             3 John 1:2

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

For anyone first reading the Health and Nutrition Update, please read this first: Your Health.

Also, please go to God’s Health System and subscribe to receive the updates.

Always remember that you are in charge of your health and not the doctors. Do not put your life in their hands without first seeking God and His health system.

Commentary

The goal of this blog now is to build up your health and especially the immune system to withstand the coming pestilences that are now rampant in America and the world. God gave the knowledge to prepare for pestilences, so take advantage of this information. The focus is posting articles with great information that can immediately help your health and quality of life.

God bless you.

Articles

Health and Nutrition

The poorest families have the healthiest diets because they don’t eat processed foods, and you won’t want them either with a fasting regime

An experimental eating regime may slow aging and stave off disease–if you can stand it  While the title makes it sound difficult, it really isn’t. All it involves is limited fasting for a few consecutive days each month. I’ve found that after the first day or two, you forget about eating altogether. Though I haven’t known about this specific diet until the article appeared, based on what I’ve done for years, everything they’re discussing as far as your food choices and appetite seems true. If the health benefits are as great as they claim, then this is a small step to gain huge rewards.

Isaiah 58:6-8  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.

“With the help of a small stool, Mercy Carrion clambers onto an examination table. The obese 50-year-old woman stands just 115.6 cm (3 feet, 9.5 inches) tall. Despite being overweight, Mercy shows no sign of developing diabetes and has remarkably low blood pressure at 100/70. “That’s why they don’t care much about their weight,” says her doctor, Jaime Guevara-Aguirre. 

Mercy, who has a rare genetic disorder, is one of his long-term patients. She and her peers know they are in some way protected from diabetes, cancer and a number of other diseases that threaten the rest of us as we age. As such, they have a happy-go-lucky attitude towards health and fitness.

 …I’m fascinated–partly because this woman’s condition relates so much to a diet I’ve been trying for the past three years. 

Actually, it is somewhat misleading to call it a “diet.” I signed up for it as part of an intriguing clinical trial at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. It involved reducing my calories by up to two-thirds, over five consecutive days, once a month for three months. The rest of the time I ate normally, without restrictions. Three years on, I have just completed my tenth Fasting Mimicking Diet.

This approach certainly leads to short-term weight loss. But researchers prefer to see it as an investment in the future. Fasting this way could, they say, start a regenerative process that will lead to improved health and longer life. If the theory stands, I could enjoy a lower risk of cancer, a strengthened immune system, improved cognitive ability and little to no chance of contracting diabetes. The science is based on years of experimentation with yeast, worms, flies, mice–and studies of Ecuadorians with a form of dwarfism.”

The Importance of Magnesium, and Top Foods That Can Help Improve Your Magnesium Status 

“Magnesium is vitally important for biological function and optimal health. It’s the fourth most abundant mineral in your body, and researchers have detected more than 3,750 magnesium-binding sites on human proteins.

More than 300 different enzymes also rely on magnesium for proper function. This reflects the impact magnesium has on your biochemical processes, many of which are crucial for proper metabolic function. This includes but not limited to:

Creation of ATP (adenosine triphospate), the energy currency of your body2,3
Relaxation of blood vessels
Muscle and nerve function, including the action of your heart muscle
Proper formation of bones and teeth
Regulation of blood sugar and insulin sensitivity, which is important for the prevention of type 2 diabetes4,5,6,7 (In one study,8 prediabetics with the highest magnesium intake reduced their risk for blood sugar and metabolic problems by 71 percent)

If you’re lacking in cellular magnesium, it can lead to the deterioration of your cellular metabolic function, which in turn can snowball into more serious health problems…Magnesium also plays a role in your body’s detoxification processes (including the synthesis of glutathione) and is therefore important for minimizing damage from toxic exposures.

Perhaps most importantly, magnesium is vital for the optimization of your mitochondria, and this has enormous potential to influence your health, especially the prevention of cancer, but also for general energy and athletic performance.”

Pulses

Beans Help With Weight Loss: Study 

“Beans, chickpeas, peas, lentils: Humble foods that may pack a punch for weight loss, Canadian researchers report. A new analysis of data from 21 clinical trials on these foods — collectively known as “pulses” — finds that they can help dieters feel full, and shed unwanted pounds.

“Though the weight loss was small, our findings suggest that simply including pulses in your diet may help you lose weight, and we think more importantly, prevent you from gaining it back after you lose it,” study lead author Russell de Souza, a researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, said in a hospital news release.

One expert wasn’t surprised by the findings.

“These types of legumes are some of the most underappreciated foods around,” said Dana Angelo White, a nutritionist and assistant professor of sports medicine at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.

“They are full of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals,” she noted. “It makes sense they would help facilitate weight loss and reduce cholesterol when eaten regularly.”

The Canadian team also noted that pulses have a “low glycemic index” — meaning that they break down slowly in the digestive tract. As such, they can be consumed instead of animal protein or unhealthy fats at mealtimes.”

Health and Nutrition/ Heart Health

Fruit Every Day Good for Your Heart 

“Eating fresh fruit regularly may help prevent heart attacks and strokes, a large study out of China suggests.

Adults who ate fresh fruit, such as apples and oranges, every day had about a one-third reduced risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, compared to those who rarely or never ate fruit, researchers found.

“Fruit consumption is important for your cardiovascular health,” said lead researcher Dr. Liming Li, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, in Beijing.

Study participants who ate fruit most often had lower blood pressure and blood sugar than less frequent fruit eaters, which may account for the reduced risk for heart attacks and strokes, Li said…

For the study, Li and colleagues collected data on more than 500,000 adults, ages 30 to 79, between 2004 and 2009. None had a history of heart disease.

Fewer than one in five ate fruit on a daily basis. Over seven years, those who ate the equivalent of roughly a half cup of fruit a day had significantly lower risks of major cardiovascular diseases, the study found.”

Pestilence

CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE
A sample of the Chinese-made drywall ripped out of the home of Thomas and Lauren Stone on Thursday, June 4, 2009, in Chalmette. The Stones are in the long process of replacing it all by themselves.

Chinese Drywall Problems: Health Effects and Property Damage from Contaminated Drywall 

“Problem drywall is a problem that isn’t going away. As of 2015, over 4,000 homeowners have reported that drywall imported from China has caused health problems and metal corrosion in their homes, according to the CDC. The contaminated drywall has high levels of sulfur, which may be responsible for a rotten egg smell in affected homes, blackened or corroded pipes, failure of air conditioners and other household appliances, and health problems such as asthma, coughing, headaches, sore throats, and irritated eyes.

Most of the contaminated drywall was installed in 2006 and 2007 following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when a spike in home construction caused a shortage of drywall made in the United States. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received complaints from homeowners in 44 states, although the bulk of reports come from Florida and several other states in the south.

This article discusses the major complaints associated with China-manufactured drywall, legal claims based on drywall problems, and what you should do if you think you have contaminated drywall in your home.

…The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued guidelines for identifying contaminated drywall. The guidelines recommend a two-step process: first a threshold inquiry and then, if the threshold is met, a further investigation seeking corroborating evidence.”

Ban Toxic Chinese Drywall, Provide Medical Monitoring, Injunctive Equitable Relief, Public Awareness  If you’re as sick as we are of all these toxic Chinese products being dumped on the American market, and the almost non-existent response of government agencies to claims of death in humans and their pets (from foods, and now from toxic drywall) you might want to sign this petition. At a minimum, it’s worth reading because this family’s story could be yours.

And despite claims that most of the toxic product was installed during 2006 and 2007, watch this video below. Country singer Merle Haggard just built a new house, then was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer usually found only in Chinese housewives, who spend a great deal of time at home. He died on April 6, 2016.

Vitamin D/ Heart Health

Vitamin D improves heart function, study finds

“A daily dose of vitamin D3 improves heart function in people with chronic heart failure, a five-year research project has found. The study involved more than 160 patients who were already being treated for their heart failure using proven treatments including beta-blockers, ACE-inhibitors and pacemakers.”

Sunshine is good for you!

Research finds sun avoidance increases risk for mortality 

“A recent article was published in Medscape with the title, “Avoiding Sun as Dangerous as Smoking.” The article discusses a study that followed nearly 30,000 Swedish women over 20 years.

The study found that the life expectancy for women who avoided the sun decreased by 0.6 to 2.1 years compared to women with the highest sun exposure.”

Heart Health/ Effects of Broken Heart

Health is just one reason why it’s so important for the Lord to heal your broken heart

Broken Heart Syndrome: A Real Cardiovascular Killer  There are numerous issues for those who have suffered a broken heart, and many reasons why broken hearts occur, but none is too big for the Lord to heal – this is one reason why He came. Please see our downloadable brochure and web page dealing with this issue:  Jesus Christ Came to Heal the Brokenhearted

“We’ve all heard tragic stories of elderly, long married couples who, when one spouse dies, the other “heartbroken” spouse dies soon after. But it’s not just a sentimental idea — in fact, it is a real cardiovascular condition, new research shows.

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) revealed that the death of a partner is linked to a heightened risk of developing an irregular heartbeat (also known as atrial fibrillation) for up to a year afterwards. This increases the risk of heart attack and heart failure.

Statistics showed that the bereaved partner had a 41 percent higher incidence of atrial fibrillation than those who hadn’t experienced a loss and was greater when the death was unexpected.

But can you actually die from a broken heart?

“Definitely. There is a real disease called broken heart syndrome,” notes North Carolina-based cardiologist Dr. Kevin Campbell. “There is a heart-brain connection during acute stress such as death of a loved one that plays a role in this unusual but very tangible health threat.”

About 6,230 people in the U.S. were hospitalized with broken heart syndrome in 2012, according to a recent study. Patients usually heal within a few days but complications can occur as well as fatalities, Campbell tells Newsmax Health.”

Exercise

Poor Diet, Lack of Exercise Accelerate Aging: Mayo 

“The Fountain of Youth may actually be the drinking fountain at the gym, new research suggests. Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found lack of exercise, as well as a poor diet, accelerate aging and age-related health conditions.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes, found that inactivity and poor nutrition increased the onset of a biological process known as “cellular senescence” – which contributes to many diseases and conditions associated with age. Although the study involved mice, the researchers said the findings have significant implications for people, too.

“We think at both a biological level and a clinical level, poor nutrition choices and inactive lifestyles do accelerate aging,” said Nathan LeBrasseur, director of the Mayo Center on Aging’s Healthy and Independent Living Program and senior author of the study.

“So now we’ve shown this in very fine detail at a cellular level, and we can see it clinically. And people need to remember that even though you don’t have the diagnosis of diabetes or the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease or the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease today when you’re in midlife, the biology underlying those processes is hard at work.”

…For the study, researchers fed mice either a normal, healthy diet or a “fast food diet” high in saturated fat and cholesterol, along with a sugar-sweetened beverage. Mice on the fast food diet showed harmful changes in body weight and composition, increasing their fat mass by nearly 300 percent over the course of about four months. The fat mass accumulated largely in the midsection surrounding internal organs, an area that is often linked to a number of diseases related to obesity.

While the harmful effects of the fast food diet were clear, researchers found significant health improvements after introducing exercise. Half the mice, including mice on both the healthy and unhealthy diets, were given exercise wheels. Those that had been exposed to the fast food diet but exercised had lower body weight and fat accumulation, and were protected against the accumulation of senescent cells.”

Gardening

Exercise, Including Gardening, Can Cut Alzheimer’s By 50 Percent  Researchers are finding that there are innumerable health benefits in gardening. See the article below this one also. 

“Regular physical activity, including gardening or dancing, may cut Alzheimer’s risk by as much as 50 percent, a new study suggests.

Researchers who analyzed lifestyle habits and brain scans of nearly 900 older adults found that any activity that gets you moving on a regular basis seems to help the brain increase gray matter. This, in turn, may keep dementia at bay, they suggested.

“Any type of physical activity that burns calories — from jogging to gardening to walking to dancing — is associated with more gray matter in the brain,” said lead researcher Dr. Cyrus Raji. He is a postdoctoral researcher in radiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“The most important thing is that it’s regular,” Raji said.”

Why Gardening is Good for Your Health 

“Gardening gets you out in the fresh air and sunshine. It also gets your blood moving and circulating. Gardening is considered moderate to high intensity exercise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention you can burn up to 330 calories during one hour of gardening. Just 30 minutes of gardening a few times a week can help control high blood pressure. On the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s recommendation list is gardening to help battle hypertension. While your outdoors you will also be soaking up plenty of Vitamin D in the sunshine. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium which in turn keeps your bones strong and immune system healthy….”

 Pet Health

Spring? I thought Summer came next.

9 Pets as Ready for Spring as You Are!  This is a cute photo review of pets eager for Spring, each with an appropriate caption like the one pictured here.

Spring Cleaning for Dogs 

“Spring has sprung, and once again, that means time for spring cleaning! Here’s how to tackle dealing with your dog’s stuff as well as your own.

Every year when spring hits and the weather begins to warm up, our minds naturally think of all the spring cleaning we need to do. We throw out as much as we can, and clean up as much of our own stuff as we have time for. But what about our dog’s stuff? Old dirty toys, bedding, and more, can really add up over time. 

Well, don’t despair. We have some helpful tips for dealing with the accumulated mess. Follow our lead, and spring cleaning for your dog could actually be fun!”

I’ve got a little piece of Spring right here!

Spring Cleaning for Cats 

“Out with the Old 
There’s plenty of stuff you can get rid of. Don’t worry about going too far — you can always get new stuff. A good rule of thumb is, if you and your cat haven’t used the item in the past year, let it go. Be sure to dispose of everything properly, following all local refuse regulations.

It’s a good idea to keep a list of any items you toss in case you want to buy new replacement items. You can circle the ones you want to replace, and as an added bonus, you’ll feel great about seeing all that you’ve accomplished once you’re through. Here are a few things to consider throwing away:

• Old, worn-out toys and puzzle feeders

• Frayed or otherwise damaged collars, leashes, and harnesses

• Bedding that’s on its last leg

• Carriers that are no longer needed

• Expired treats and food

Then there’s your cat herself. Has she gotten into any spring messes already? Does she need a bath, grooming, or a visit to the veterinarian for shots or any health issues? The onset of spring is as good an excuse as any to attend to your cat’s special health needs.”

Conclusion

Your physical health is very important, but of even greater importance is your spiritual health. Man suffers from a fatal spiritual disease called sin, which always leads to death.
Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is why Jesus Christ said we need the Spirit of God who gives us eternal life with Him. We need to be “born again” with a new spirit that is not subject to sin and death.
John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Right now, through repentance of the spiritual disease called sin, you can come to Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, for healing and assurance of eternal life.
Mark 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

For those who love the Lord Jesus and are looking for His coming, the following is their future:
Revelation 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.