We talk a lot about hot topics like Big Pharma and carbs. But today we’re going to share some of the best tips for both preventing and addressing stress. Stress is ultimately at the root of many, if not all, of our most pressing health issues, including aging.
Of course this depends on your understanding of “stress”. An unhealthy diet that triggers an inflammatory response or the development of arterial plaques is one definition of “stress”. So does the emotional anguish of being in an unhealthy relationship. Another big one: the oxidative stress that promotes cellular breakdown. And simply failing to use your body actively – not moving your body daily – is stressful to your heart, muscles, bone tissue and even to your brain.
A little stress is useful: it’s how we learn, and grow, and survive. Indeed, when you work out, you’re stressing your body, just as if you were pruning a rosebush. There’s some value in moderate amounts of stress, which is a good thing, since life will never be free of it. But most of us probably suffer from too much chronic stress, and if we aren’t taking prudent steps to healthily deal with stress, the cumulative effects are devastating. Whether from the environment, lifestyle, injury or the way you use – or don’t use – your body, stress is really an umbrella term for a critical host of factors affecting your health.
Here’s what we recommend:
10. Take a vacation.
Really. Just find a way to do it – even for two days. For some of you that means actually taking the weekend off. It’s amazing how a brief change of scene literally refreshes your spirits and helps you gain some perspective. On a daily basis, apply this shift logic and take a brisk walk outside or call a friend.
9. Say no.
This one is on every stress list, but everyone has a hard time following it. No one needs you that much. Strangely, the world will go on without you. If someone is trying to make you feel otherwise, you need to go on without them.
8. Stay away from processed food.
Most processed, packaged foods are land mines of sugar, empty calories, fat, sodium, chemicals, dyes and other ingredients detrimental to overall health. Refined foods spur inflammation, but they also can alter your mood, especially if you’re sensitive to drugs and chemicals. Very simple: eat food, not food products. You can get salads, veggies and fruit to go, just about anywhere. (What to eat in a day.) No excuses…unless you like running around at 80% all the time. Eat food that nourishes you, energizes you, and strengthens your brain.
7. Exercise.
Most Americans don’t. We’ve blogged about one major overlooked reason why. Here’s a trick: just put on your sneakers. Don’t think about the workout. Just don’t think. Simply think “I’m going to put my sneakers on.” If you do that, and give the workout three minutes, you’ve won the battle. Exercise is just too much of a health panacea to forgo. It stimulates a better stress response (we all know about serotonin – see below). It helps you sleep. It boosts immunity and can speed healing. It’s a tension reliever. It can help you lose weight. Exercise will cut your risk of every major disease and health condition drastically. Exercise helps you eliminate toxins, it improves digestion, and it stimulates your organs.
6. It’s the beating yourself up that hurts.
We all have negative thoughts and emotions, and “bad” desires or feelings. It’s not the feelings, even the supposedly “bad” ones, that really harm us – it’s worrying about them, repressing them, fighting them. Don’t beat yourself up for not being perfect.
5. Be your own best friend.
Enough said.
4. The usual suspects are no-no’s.
Smoking. Excessive drinking. Dessert. Junk food. Mindless television. Breathing exhaust fumes. You know, the usual self-destructive habits that all add up to a lot of stress.
3. Engage your mind.
Most people stop learning and reading after college (or kids, mortgage, whatever). Mental health and longevity studies consistently show that humans who engage their minds with activities like puzzles, reading, art, travel, new hobbies, and languages are happier, healthier, and live longer. This is your one, precious life – make the most of it! It doesn’t matter if you’re a lousy painter or can barely catch the ball. If you like it, do it.
2. Fish oil.
Fish oil may help prevent Alzheimer’s. It reduces inflammation. It’s essential for cardiovascular health, mental health, and antioxidant support. Fish oil is truly a super star stress tool because it’s a double positive: fish oil addresses both physical and mental stress.
1. What else?
What’s your best tip for stress? What aspects of stress have you learned to address successfully? What kinds of stress do you need more suggestions for properly managing?
In next week’s Primal Health post we’ll be discussing the whole cortisol/stress issue. Tomorrow’s PH topic: sugar.
Further reading:
Boost Serotonin with These Easy Tricks
10 Really Simple Longevity Secrets
Sponsor note:
This post was brought to you by the Damage Control Master Formula, independently proven as the most comprehensive high-potency antioxidant multivitamin available anywhere. With the highest antioxidant per dollar value and a complete anti-aging, stress, and cognition profile, the Master Formula is truly the only multivitamin supplement you will ever need. Toss out the drawers full of dozens of different supplements with questionable potency and efficacy and experience the proven Damage Control difference!
Technorati Tags: stress relief, relaxation, tips to relax
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Here are ten delicious, natural, smart carbohydrates we enjoy at the Sisson household. For comparison, I’ve included unhealthy but popular items that I think these smarter choices can replace. The flavor and texture components aren’t a perfect match by any stretch, but I think there’s enough similarity that you’ll find it painless to switch to the healthier selections.
10. Baked, buttered, and salted acorn squash instead of french fries
9. Butternut squash instead of spaghetti
This is Mindgraph’s Flickr Photo CC
8. Sweet potatoes instead of potatoes (amazingly, a much lower impact on blood sugar)
7. Grilled eggplant instead of breaded chicken
This is Moria’s Flickr Photo CC
6. Portabello mushrooms with soy sauce instead of hamburgers
5. Raw heart of palm instead of fried mozzarella sticks
This is Lana Stewart’s Flickr Photo CC
4. Tempeh with chili sauce instead of white rice with jug “teriyaki sauce”
3. Green peas with shredded parmesan and olive oil instead of macaroni ‘n cheese
This is Himachal’s Flickr Photo
2. Artichoke hearts baked with a bit of cheddar instead of fried chicken nuggets
1. Caprese salad instead of pizza
This is Avlxyz’s Flickr Photo CC
What are your favorite healthy alternatives to refined carbohydrates?
Sponsor note:
This post was brought to you by the Damage Control Master Formula, independently proven as the most comprehensive high-potency antioxidant multivitamin available anywhere. With the highest antioxidant per dollar value and a complete anti-aging, stress, and cognition profile, the Master Formula is truly the only multivitamin supplement you will ever need. Toss out the drawers full of dozens of different supplements with questionable potency and efficacy and experience the proven Damage Control difference!
Technorati Tags: low-carb, healthy carbs, healthy recipes
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Welcome to 2007, where people eat food products full of interesting chemicals and fascinating representations of flavor. This is your food supply – and mold is just the beginning.
10. Ice Structuring Protein (ISP)
Sounds harmless enough, right? ISP is used in many ice creams these days, especially light and low-sugar varieties.
Translation: “genetically-modified fish ‘antifreeze’ proteins from the blood of ocean pout”. Hey! (Source)
9. Phosphoric Acid
This tangy chemical is in so many foods – particularly carbonated beverages – no one thinks much of it anymore. It’s cheaper than real ingredients like ginger and lemon. Folic acid, citric acid, phosphoric acid – acid is good, right?
Translation: Phosphoric acid is an efficacious, plentiful and cheap industrial chemical. In all but the most modest amounts, it’s corrosive and dangerous. Phosphoric acid is a terrific rust and stain remover – just pour Coca-Cola on rust and wait a day. Now, just imagine what it’s doing to your bones, tooth enamel and digestive tract. (Source)
(We don’t have osteoporosis because we’re lacking in calcium, though Big Moo would love you to believe that. We consume more calcium, in the form of dairy, than many cultures – particularly those in Africa and Asia. Yet despite all our chugging, osteoporosis is a persistent American problem. It’s the soda!)
8. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
It’s been linked to heart disease and cancer, but evidently…whatever. BHA and BHT are both actually antioxidants, hence their use in preserving processed fats. But these antioxidants aren’t the happy sort you want in your body. Their safety has not technically been “proven” per se – the FDA has simply approved them because, like any other food ingredient, they’ve gone through the standard approval application process. This means that the burden of proof has fallen on industry. You can guess what that means. (Source)
7. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
I believe HFCS is one of the most destructive food ingredients humans have yet to invent. There’s nothing “natural” about this ingredient. It’s a highly refined industrial product. HFCS is linked to diabetes, obesity, anxiety and many other prevalent health conditions. Avoid it at all costs. This incredibly cheap sweetener nicely deals with the surplus corn issue in our country (since we inefficiently continue to subsidize corn farmers according to outmoded 1970s models of production).
From wikipedia: “High-fructose corn syrup is produced by milling corn to produce corn starch then processing that corn starch to yield corn syrup that is almost entirely glucose, and then adding enzymes that change the glucose into fructose.” Wow, I’m drooling already.
(Note: Plain old fructose is not the same thing as HFCS. Fructose, though incredibly sweet, comes from fruits and honey. Though fructose consumption will produce an appreciable rise in blood sugar, it is metabolized more slowly than HFCS. I don’t recommend that you consume sweets and flavored beverages – including juice – but modest amounts of fruit or honey are certainly acceptable for most people. I eat berries nearly every day, and I often toss half a banana into my Responsibly Slim shake.)
6. Polysorbate 80
Another wonderful chemical with many uses ranging from stabilizing to improving texture. Isn’t it great how we ingest all these chemicals as a matter of course? Who knows what they do to us – but, hey, sign me up! You’ll find polysorbate in ice creams, candies, and anything remotely gummy, chewy, or firm. You may, in fact, eat a lot of it, so the least you can do is send a card.
5. Emulsifiers
There are loads of emulsifiers. Some are natural, some are “natural”, and some are chemical. Common emulsifiers include things as harmless as eggs and vegetable lecithin and as bizarre as Purawave. To emulsify simply means to blend two unblendable particles in an artificial or suspended state (I’m using lay terms here to keep it easy). Butter is emulsified, for example. When you whip olive oil into your vinegar for salad dressing, you’re emulsifying – pretty innocuous. While an emulsifier won’t make you sprout a third eye – yet – I don’t think we need to be eating anything that needs chemicals and processing just to become edible. Butter is one thing. If you need a chemical to keep a food from becoming rancid or falling apart like putty that’s been in a third grader’s pocket all day, maybe you ought not to eat that “food”.
4. Surfactants
Now we’re getting into sudsy detergent territory. Surface active agent – that’s a surfactant. They go by many names, but the general rule is that if you cannot pronounce or define it, you’re probably looking at a surfactant. They improve the “surface” of a product, often increasing wetness or improving spreadability. In soaps and shampoos, they add that nice lather (which is not actually necessary for getting your hair or body clean; in fact, the higher the quality of the product, the less lather you’ll get). In “foods”, surfactants improve mouthfeel, consistency and smoothness. Dressings, spreads, “cheese” foods, Handy Snacks, margarine – they’re all team players. What I really love about surfactants is that this class of chemicals is the epitome of multi-tasking. Surfactants work equally well in detergents, herbicides, laxatives, and chocolate puddings. They’re not necessarily dangerous, but merely serve to illustrate the general message here: choose foods over food products.
3. Flavorings
Flavored foods are infuriating. Chemical flavorings aren’t especially dangerous in most cases (though they have been in some cases), but beyond that, I feel using chemicals to flavor food is a wholly deceptive and unethical practice. Paying lab workers to experiment with various chemical combinations in order to yield a chemical that tastes like food is routine now. When you eat anything – and I mean anything – that is processed or packaged, there’s a very good chance that you’re eating a totally disgusting, flavorless, mass-produced hunk of starchy junk dressed up with a few drops of chemicals to resemble food. It simply boggles my mind that so many “foods” we eat are nothing more than insanely cheap, worthless starches, pumped up with unhealthy, mechanized, manipulated fats and texture props, and topped off with flavoring that isn’t actual flavor at all. That’s profitable. That’s your food supply.
2. Mold, I mean Mycoprotein
By now we all know that maltodextrin is a starch and mono- and di-glycerides are lard. They’re actually pretty harmless compared to all the many chemicals, hydrogenated fats and spike-tastic sweeteners. The really cutting edge “m” food product is mycoprotein. Quorn is a very popular vegetarian product that turns mycoprotein into “chicken” and “chicken nuggets”, among other things. Though the marketing gives you the impression that the main ingredient – mycoprotein – is a mushroom derivative, don’t be fooled. Take a big vat, some spores, and the will to stand by your mold. Mycoprotein is industrial manufactured mold. Yes. Mold. And yes, side effects.
1. Oh yeah…the entire notion of processed food!
“Come on, Mark, they test these chemicals on rodents for safety.” Hey, I’m the last person to come to the defense of a few mice – as you know, I espouse responsible meat consumption. I’m hardly an animal rights activist. But it really bothers me that we’re compelled to kill off millions of small animals annually simply to satisfy our mechanized food habit. Whether or not the chemicals are “safe” is almost a moot point to me. Creating artificial products that necessitate even thinking about testing is, to my view, insanity. Big Agra is infinitely creative, and I guess I have to applaud that, but I’m beginning to think old Ben Franklin was on to something when he deplored the expansion of commerce.
As I always say: eat food, not food products!
What do you think about food versus food products?
Feel like you can’t eat anything? Read this.
Further reading:
Want to do some digging? Check out the comprehensive chemical scorecard for consumers. (Though I hate being called a consumer!) Or have a blast with the Food Chemicals Codex. Not only are these two words hanging out together like two happy little peas in a pod, there’s a specific publication that thoughtfully covers (no, seriously) the whole enchilada. Now that’s teamwork.
Fast Food Nation
Sponsor note:
This post was brought to you by the Damage Control Master Formula, independently proven as the most comprehensive high-potency antioxidant multivitamin available anywhere. With the highest antioxidant per dollar value and a complete anti-aging, stress, and cognition profile, the Master Formula is truly the only multivitamin supplement you will ever need. Toss out the drawers full of dozens of different supplements with questionable potency and efficacy and experience the proven Damage Control difference!
Technorati Tags: mystery food ingredients, chemicals in food, ingredients, flavorings, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, emulsifier, lecithin, polysorbate, hydrogenated fat, processed food, food industry, food supply, surfactants
Posted By: Mark Sisson
How can you turn this down?
Health, in my view, is really about enjoyment and quality of life. It’s not all celery sticks and cardio – far from it. Dark chocolate and red wine shouldn’t be consumed with the reckless abandon I sincerely hope you reserve for vegetables, but they are reasonably healthy indulgences. Here’s how to indulge a little more (am I looking out for you or what?).
My editor, Sara, shares this tip: wash and chop up 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes. (Don’t bother with that canned stuff if you want the healthiest possible sauce. This is easy.) Add in half your normal amount of water or broth (you’ll see why in a second). Next add several fresh garlic cloves and any other spices or herbs you fancy in your tomato sauce. The antioxidant boost: after the tomatoes have simmered and stewed for a while, pour in 1 cup of red wine. Between the cooked tomatoes, garlic and wine, you’ll have a sauce so good, you’ll want to drink it and forget about whatever you were going to pour it on (better not be pasta).
Buy the darkest, most bitter, pure chocolate you can find. Even mass chocolate manufacturers like Hershey’s are pushing darker and darker chocolates. You can find upwards of 70% these days without breaking a sweat. Melt a bar in a saucepan with a big dash of cayenne pepper, a generous pinch of oregano or marjoram, a touch of olive oil, and a decent sprinkle of sea salt. You now have a very interesting and incredible reduction to drizzle over your pork chops. Just trust me.
A necessary word of caution: I am not recommending a future career as a lush here. But you might enjoy splitting up that nightly glass of red into two small glasses (emphasis on small) and having a splash of wine at lunch. Many cultures around the world enjoy a little swill at noon. Obviously, this won’t work for everyone depending on schedules and workplace expectations. And, if alcohol is something that you tend to indulge too much in, then skip this tip (matter of fact, skip this post).
Chocolate for breakfast? Sure. This tip is for the morning vice crowd. If you want whiter teeth and you never seem to eat anything for breakfast, tackle both issues by eating a piece of dark chocolate instead of coffee. You’ll get some fat and caffeine to nourish your brain, quell your starving stomach and stimulate your nerves. I think some sliced tomatoes or scrambled eggs are both obviously better ideas for your mornings, but if you’re a coffee junkie and you have trouble ingesting a morning dose of calories, hey, I say work with the problem instead of fighting it. Dark chocolate still has some sugar, so if you’re trying to lose weight or if you need to watch your blood sugar, stick to the scrambled eggs.
Just kidding! Don’t do that.
Do you need to cut out refined carbohydrates like pasta, candy, pastries and soda? Everyone does. Eliminating refined carbohydrate intake is a critical first step in losing weight, ridding yourself of mood swings, and simply improving your overall health. But be sure you create a system to reward yourself a little for each step you take to better health. For example, you might eliminate your three biggest vices (let’s say they’re pasta, potatoes, and soda). For each day you avoid these three vices, you get three small squares of dark chocolate. Eat them at night for a serotonin boost that will improve your sleep and make you feel happy. Three squares typically contain around 10 grams of sugar. While not ideal, that’s a lot better than several hundred grams from a serving of refined carbs at each meal.
Skip the sugary, trans-fat-clogged, chemical-laden store salad dressings and whip up an antioxidant- and immune-boosting dressing at home. Mix equal parts red wine with a tasty vinegar. Next, blend equal parts of this mixture and olive oil. This is an easy, healthy dressing that will liven up your greens (which I hope you’re eating every day).
Note: wine doesn’t last more than a few days at most, so don’t make big batches of the stuff. Just enough for a few meals.
This is not really something to eat daily, but if you’re a candy lover and you’re in need of a healthier substitute, have a square of dark chocolate with some fresh-roasted, organic, sugar-free almond butter. After a few weeks of this, if you try out the ole Cups, you’ll be put off by the chemical taste. Guaranteed candy cure. (You MDA frequent fliers know I’m really not a substitute kind of guy – to be healthy, you gotta eat healthy, end of story. I happen to think salads and grilled lean meats taste amazing and I think living on indulgent junk food is anything but living. However, some treats really are pretty decent for you – almond butter is full of Omega-3′s and fiber, and a little dark chocolate is fine.)
Think about switching your soda to wine. Again, huge disclaimer: this is not a recommendation to become Peter O’Toole. This is strictly for soda addicts. The purpose is to get you to realize what you’re actually doing to your body. For most folks – I’m not talking about alcoholics – soda is far worse for the body than wine (and unlike wine, has zero marginally redeeming health benefits). Downing multiple sodas may be socially acceptable, but it’s addictive and enormously destructive to health. The problem is that it intoxicates your body in an entirely different – and perhaps more insidious – way than alcohol. Soda does terrible damage, but you don’t “feel” the damage immediately. The closest thing is a sugar crash, in which case, most people just have another soda to stave it off. The problem with soda is that the internal destruction isn’t really noticeable until you’re overweight, diabetic, depressed and wondering why you have a mood crash every day at 3 p.m. If you drink a glass of wine, however, you feel it. You don’t need a second (I hope). So just imagine what all those sodas were actually doing to your body.
Gee, that’s just super, Mark, but I drink soda at work. No problem: to get off the lunchtime soda habit, have a glass of water and a piece of fruit. You’re just dehydrated.
jypsygen, polifemus (out of order), suavehouse113 Flickr Photos (CC)
White chocolate is not chocolate!
Wine beats juice for antioxidant absorption
Is this guy nuts? My most popular articles
The idea for this headline came from Lyndon. Thanks!
Sponsor note:
This post was brought to you by the Damage Control Master Formula, independently proven as the most comprehensive high-potency antioxidant multivitamin available anywhere. With the highest antioxidant per dollar value and a complete anti-aging, stress, and cognition profile, the Master Formula is truly the only multivitamin supplement you will ever need. Toss out the drawers full of dozens of different supplements with questionable potency and efficacy and experience the proven Damage Control difference
Posted By: Mark Sisson
The Tuesday 10
Want to derail a diet or perennially perch on the pound plateau? It’s easy – just be sure to do one or more of the following:
10. Drink Alcohol – lots of it!
Ketosis, schmosis. Cutting out refined carbs and empty calories will definitely help you peel off those pounds, but it will be much harder if you’re drinking more than one (ladies) or two (dudes) alcoholic beverages daily. To speed weight loss and love your liver, do not drink empty calories.
9. Drink Soda – but especially diet soda!
Drinking empty calories will quickly quell any weight loss attempt. But even diet soda is a bad idea, because it makes you awfully puffy. Aside from the water retention, studies show that diet soda actually contributes to weight gain, likely because it increases cravings for sugar and calories.
8. Chow Corn
Part of weight loss means eating more veggies. Like corn, right? No! Corn is not a vegetable. Repeat, corn is not a vegetable! Somehow this sugary grain got lumped into the veggie category, but rabbit food it’s not. Avoid all things corn – corn syrup, corn oil, corn starch – and you’ll reap major rewards for your health and your hips.
7. Pick Potatoes
Mark takes potatoes personally. It’s not hard to see why – these ridiculous spuds are a starch disaster. What little nutrition potatoes offer is wrapped up in the skins, and how many of us eat the skins? You’re better off avoiding America’s #1 “vegetable”. It’s not a vegetable, it’s a tuber.
6. Eat late at night!
Eating late at night won’t necessarily obliterate your metabolism, but few of us are ever truly in need of anything edible after dinner. The exception is if you work out late and want to enjoy a glass of water and a piece of fruit (or handful of nuts) post-gym. Usually, nighttime eating is more about cravings than caloric needs, and it will quickly destroy all the good choices you made during the day. If you must snack, have the aforementioned piece of fruit – or Elliott’s and my favorite, a small spoonful of peanut butter (sugar- and salt-free). Bonus: PB helps you get to sleep.
5. Skip breakfast!
Mark’s not a breakfast-beater, and in general, we don’t believe in adhering religiously to mainstream health “rules” until they’ve been critically examined. Eat when you’re hungry – this seems to work pretty well. That said, just a bit of fuel in the morning is necessary to get your metabolism roaring and wake up your brain. (Eating an apple is as effective as a cup of coffee for making you feel alert, by the way!) Just 100-200 calories is sufficient, so if you despite a.m. eating, at least have a piece of fruit, turkey, or cheese.
4. Eat the same every day.
While it’s not essential to worship at the alter of variety, eating the same meals over and over, at the same exact time of day, can cause a weight loss rut. Sometimes all you need to break out of a diet ditch is a well-planned shock to your metabolism. Humans evolved to accommodate fluctuations in meal sizes and types. Depending on what was in season, the location, and the needs of the group, humans often feasted one day and fasted the next. Frequently, humans ate the same few foods for days or weeks on end. I’m not suggesting you try this out, but it’s not a bad idea to “reset” your system every two weeks or so with a next-to-nothing day, a major-meals day, or a totally-different-food day.
3. Eat once a day.
We all know what happens when you do this. Still, it’s all too common.
2. Go more than 48 hours between workouts.
Wait, I have to work out? Yes, you do! And not only that, you need to keep your metabolism firing by working out every day. You can lose weight by working out less, but you’ll have to eat a lot less, and it can take a lot longer. Working out daily – for as little as 20 minutes – will keep your system hungry and turn you into a calorie-annihilating machine. Don’t believe me? Try it. (Also, if you’re new to working out it will be so much easier to turn it into a habit if you just make yourself do it daily. Soon you’ll crave exercise, I promise.)
1. What do you think is the major saboteur of weight loss? Let’s talk about it!
P.S. You can read about my own successful health & weight loss adventure at Calorie Lab and Livin’ La Vida Low Carb. I’ve learned so much about living a healthy, fit, lean lifestyle from Mark, and I know you will, too!
Sponsor note:
This post was brought to you by the Damage Control Master Formula, independently proven as the most comprehensive high-potency antioxidant multivitamin available anywhere. With the highest antioxidant per dollar value and a complete anti-aging, stress, and cognition profile, the Master Formula is truly the only multivitamin supplement you will ever need. Toss out the drawers full of dozens of different supplements with questionable potency and efficacy and experience the proven Damage Control difference!
Posted By: Sara
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