The Worst Macronutrient For Your Body

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Here's something to ponder: 

We know that the pancreas secrets insulin to help cells uptake glucose molecules. 

We know that type two diabetes can be caused by an inability for the cells to use that insulin. The pancreas stresses out and make more and more insulin. Eventually it slows down. Either way there is way too much sugar in the blood stream and it wreaks havok on the body. 

But that's not all the pancreas does. It also secretes digestive enzymes for the intestines to use when turning food into fuel. Diseases of the pancreas are often blamed on excess sugar. Looking at the chart above, it makes me wonder.... 

The breakdown of carbohydrates begins in the mouth and then what's left is shared by enzymes produced by the pancreas and small intestine. 

The enzymes that breakdown proteins also come from  the pancreas and small intestine as well as the stomach. 

At this point it feels like many organs are sharing the digestive burden, which is probably how it's supposed to be so nothing gets over used.

Here's where it gets tricky.  Nucleic acids exist in foods with high protein contents. This includes beans, meats, fish and eggs... even yeast (alcohol), asparagus, cauliflower and other high protein vegetables. 

The enzymes that digest nucleic acids come from the pancreas and the pancreas alone. 

(And PS too much nucleic acid can be turned into uric acid by the body and cause gout. The king's disease. The disease of people who eat a high meat diet... food for thought).

Fat is also metabolized by enzymes that come exclusively from the pancreas. 

My question in all this is why do we believe that diseases of the pancreas come from excess carbohydrate consumption? It seems to me that protein and fat digestion place a much greater burden on the pancreas than carbohydrates do. 

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I would love to learn more!

 

MRIs of Fruits and Veggies

Head over to Andy Ellison's renowned blog, Inside Insides, for more of these amazing and hypnotic images!

 

 Watermelon

Tomato

Foods That Will Keep You Young

 

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We talked yesterday about metabolism and oxidative stress. Metabolism comes in the form of many bodily actions or changes. One of those actions is digestion. Food that is quick to digest creates the least amount of oxidative stress (you're body's "exhaust" and also the reason we age").

Above is a list of food digestion speeds. By eating foods in the green boxes we put the least amount of stress on our bodies. Plant based foods are made from simple structures that move quickly through the digestive tract due to a high fiber content. The oxidative stress that is created during this metabolic process is partially combated by the plentiful antioxidants in these foods.

Eat your fruits and veggies!! And when you chose food from the orange and red boxes make sure not to eat them alone. Eating fats and meats with high fiber food helps to move things along :)

A Slow Metabolism Will Keep You Young

When medical terminology gets in the hands of main stream media it tends to get lost in translation. One word that specifically comes to mind is metabolism. The first thing that pops into your head is probably FOOD. Or maybe DIET. EXERCISE? 

Ninety nine percent of the time I hear the word metabolism it is following the words fast or slow. In today's world everyone wants a fast metabolism. Here is what I think most people believe about metabolism: 

1. A fast metabolism is good because it will make you skinny.
2. Kids have a fast metabolism, and it's why they can eat anything. 
3. I have a slow metabolism and it will take me a month to burn off this burger. 

It's not that this is all wrong, but THIS IS ALL WRONG. It's sort of right but you're looking at it all wrong. 

Let's start with the word metabolism. All it really means is the efficiency in which your body takes one thing and turns it into another thing. 

Food -> waste. 

Oxygen -> CO2. 

Sunlight -> Vitamin D. 

The word itself literally means change. Stop saying metabolism and start saying "ability to change things". 
 
Consider this: Small animals have a very fast metabo...ability to change things. They have higher heart rates, take quicker breathes, have smaller digestive tracts... everything just happens more rapidly. 

 

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Their lifespans are equally as small. 

TEST: Do you want a fast metabolism? Breath really quickly right now. There you go- fast metabolism. But don't pass out! That's not part of this drill.

Consider this: Large animals have a very slow ability to change things. Their heart rate is slower, their digestive tract is larger and more complex, their lungs take longer to fill with air and then empty again. There is more surface area for metabolic processes to cover and thus, their metabolisms are slower. 

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They also live significantly longer than small animals. 

There are, of course, some exceptions. My favorite is the naked mole rat. NMRs are small, funny looking creatures. They have a series of physiological anomalies that make them very worth studying. They don't need sunlight, they almost never get cancer and they live up to their 30s. Pretty impressive for a little critter.

Changing things from one compound to another in the body takes work and creates a by-product completely independent of the change itself. This by-product is oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is the body's natural exhaust. We can combat it with anti-oxidants, but overall our metabolic processes are too frequent and the oxidative stress builds up. Overtime, the effects of oxidative stress manifest into what we call "aging". Without antioxidants in our diet oxidative stress can cause age related diseases due to the damage it inflicts on cells. 

Smoking creates a metabolic process that not only creates oxidative stress but introduces chemicals that also need antioxidants to combat them. It's a double whammy. In a way, smoking increases your metabolic rate because it gives your body so many more tasks to complete and changes to make. Is it any wonder that smoking ages you?

Back to my pal the NMR. Scientists have discovered that this amazing mammal has an incredibly low metabolic rate. Not only this, but it appears that it can regulate its metabolism slowing it down in times of fasting. The NMR takes fewer breaths than other mammals of its size, it has a colder body temperature and it's body just does things pretty darn slowly. Researchers attribute the longevity of the NMR to its slow metabolism because in turn it creates less oxidative stress.

As health conscious humans there are certain things that we're told are good for us. With what we've just learned, we might understand them a little differently now.

What we're told: Plant based foods are healthy for you.
What that really means: Plants contain antioxidants that battle oxidative stress.

What we're told: Intermittent fasting can be a good way to cure a fever or cleanse your body.
What that really means: Fasting slows down the metabolism which slows down the rate of oxidative stress which reduces its harmful effects on an already sick and tired body. 

What we're told: Exercise is good for us. 
What that really means: Though exercise temporarily speeds up metabolism it ultimately lowers the resting heart rate and improves cardiovascular function. The less the heart has to pump blood throughout the body, the less oxidative stress occurs. 

What we're told: Over eating is bad for you and will make you gain weight. 
What that really means: Overeating will increase metabolism. You may never catch up with your calories and burn them all off, but your body will always be trying to metabolize them into energy or fat. Lots of oxidative stress occurs when you eat- especially if you are eating foods that are difficult to digest. 

In a post that can be read here, Dr. Furman suggests eating a diet high in nutrient dense fruits and vegetables. This not only provides adequate antioxidants but it is also a diet high in fiber and is quick to digest. While meat can take days to digest, fiber rich plants only take hours. Less stress- more healing and nourishment. The best diet plan is always to eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full. Give your body what it needs and not much more.

Bottom line: Take long, deep, relaxing breaths when you can. Stress less and keep your heart rate low. Exercise to improve overall cardiovascular function. Eat plant based foods and don't worry about constantly increasing your metabolism. It just might be the worst thing you can do for yourself.

Armed with all of this knowledge you may find yourself weary of advertisers claiming to boost your metabolism with a certain product. Ummm.... no thanks.

I'm just over here trying to be a naked mole rat.

...And if you're still reading... congrats- you made it! I hope you enjoyed it and it got you thinking. And now for a treat- check out these ridiculous pictures which probably didn't seem so ridiculous before you read this post:

 

Articles used to write this piece:

Joseph JA, Denisova N, Fisher D, et al: Age-related neurodegeneration and oxidative stress: putative nutritional intervention. Neurol Clin 1998;16:747-755.
 
Hulbert AJ, Pamplona R, Buffenstein R, et al: Life and death: metabolic rate, membrane composition, and life span of animals. Physiol Rev 2007;87:1175-1213.
 
Farooqui T, Farooqui AA: Aging: an important factor for the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Mech Ageing Dev 2009;130:203-215.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15855403 

The Extrodinary Lifespans of Naked Mole-Rats 

Perfect, Youthful Hair

 

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Have you ever wondered why kids have perfect hair? When they first wake up, after it dries from the pool, after running around for hours.... perfect quaffs all around.
There are several factors contributing to this unfair anomaly. Probably the most important one being that their hair is "new" and undamaged. It hasn't been exposed to years of daily hair dryers and straightening wands or dehydrating shampoos. It's basically soft silky baby hair. It also hasn't been exposed to the hormonal oily mess of puberty. As we try to mitigate the awkward years with shampoo for oily hair or excessive oils for dry hair, we do even more damage than just letting hair run it's course.
 

Kids also just don't care about what their hair looks like and that inadvertent confidence might add even more style to the hair-do.

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So what can you do to have perfect, effortless hair? Chances are you have years of damage to reverse. Fear now! It's totally possible. Before you jump into the no-poo method of hair hygiene or pull a Britney Spears to just start fresh... Let's think about baby steps.
1. Buy some organic shampoo an conditioner. There are lots if wonderful, expensive brands out there, but as a newbie id recommend trying Whole Food's brand first. 

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It's affordable and leaves out parabens and sulfates... the latter of which is very harsh and drying.

2. Don't wash your hair everyday. Allow your scalp to rebound and reconnect with it's natural oils. At first it might freak out. Prepare the hair-ties and headbands for some challenging hair days. But it also might not freak out. In no time you will have literally trained your hair to only need a washing 2-3 times per week. My hair actually looks better the longer I go without washing it. It holds style and volume mush better. There is definitely a breaking point though!
3. Ditch the products and heat. I know this is impossible sometimes. I don't expect you to show up for a job interview looking like a caveman or frizzball. Personally, I make it a point to not use a hairdryer in the summer. It’s much easier to get away with untamed hair during beach season. If you are hesitant, perhaps start with your weekend hair. Eventually you will find something that works from you. Experiment with clips and pins to find your groove.  If you MUST use heat on your hair, try to do so when your hair is dry. Also try to coat your locks with a layer of light oil or serum. This acts as a protective layer between the hair and direct heat.

4. Use an oil based hair mask weekly. Try cold pressed coconut oil or avocado oil for great results. Leave it in overnight and wash out in the morning. Within a few application your hair will be as soft and silky as it was when you were a little kid.

5. Use a wooden toothed brush. This will break your hear far  less than a plastic or metal brush. The wood also absorbs your hair's natural oils and redistributes them evenly throughout your hair when  brushing. This gives a similar effect to argon oil on the hair. 

 

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6. Finally, confidence is KEY. If you’re comfortable with your curls or frizz or slicked back hair, you might start a trend. Embrace the cowlicks and kinks and make them work for you. My hair will never be stick straight and it will always look like I was electrified it the humidity is above 1%. When my hair starts getting big I like to lean into it and make it even bigger. Like a statement piece. When my hair is limp and boring, I experiment with classy low buns, bright lipstick and fun headbands. Always remain confident in how you look and everything else will fall into place

 

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Jen can do it, and so can you.

6 Amazing Anti-Aging Foods You Can Eat For Breakfast

For the full article from Huffington Post, click here!

The Huffington Post  |  By Shelley Emling

For as long as we can remember, we've heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But not only can it boost your energy and memory levels, it also can impact how long you live. Studies show that by eating certain foods, you can help slow the aging process. Here are just six amazing anti-aging treats you might want to go for first thing in the morning.

1. Blueberries

Although tiny, blueberries pack a huge anti-aging health punch. Rich in polyphenols, research suggests that a blueberry-rich diet not only improves your motor skills, but also can help fight diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Indeed one recent study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association showed that women who ate the most blueberries -- as well as their superfood cousin, strawberries -- enjoyed a 32 percent lower heart attack risk than women who only ate these berries once a month (or not at all). 

2. Oatmeal

For years, research has shown a strong correlation between oatmeal and cholesterol reduction. Oatmeal is rich in soluble fiber that gets rid of "bad" cholesterol. Oats also are packed with the antioxidants that do battle against cell damage. And that can help plump skin and reduce wrinkles.



3. Eggs

Eggs usually come under fire because of their high cholesterol content. But studies show that healthy men and women who consume an egg a day actually do not experience negative health repercussions. In addition, eggs contain all the essential B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, choline, biotin, and folic acid. Choline has been shown to protect your memory, while two proteins in eggs -- lutein and zeaxanthin -- protect against vision loss.

4. Tea

Many teas are high in anti-aging antioxidants. But green tea is rich in an antioxidant known as EGCG, which helps fight wrinkles and rejuvenate skin cells. Green tea also may protect against cancer, control blood sugar levels, and help reduce inflammation associated with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

5. Pomegranate Juice

If tea's not your thing, try pomegranate juice instead. Studies show that a glass of pomegranate juice a day could help keep wrinkles at bay. Not only has pomegranate been shown to slow down the natural oxidation ("wear and tear") of DNA, it also has been linked to the prevention of heart disease and stress relief.

 

6. Grapefruit

In addition to helping you feel full, which in turn may assist with weight loss, grapefruit also can help lower "bad" cholesterol and triglyceride levels while also boosting “good” HDL cholesterol. Deep red varieties are best as studies show they can also help keep heart disease at bay.
One caveat: Grapefruit can prove hazardous when combined with certain prescription medicines.

Skinny Ms. Fountainn of Youth Smoothie

 This recipe and photos are courtesy of Skinny Ms. Please check out her wonderful website here! 

Ingredients

• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded
• 1/8 honeydew melon, cut into about 10 (1-inch) cubes
• 1 banana, frozen
• 1 kiwi, peeled
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 cup chopped green kale, stems removed
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk (almond or soy will work)

Directions

Add all ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth. Add additional milk for a thinner consistency, if desired

Stay Young By Going To Bed Early

 

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Every morning that I wake up for work I wish I had gone to bed earlier the night before. My friends with kids especially feel that way when their little ones bound into their rooms with the energy of a Tasmanian devil at 6am. Why do kids get up so early? How do they have so much energy without coffee? It's always seemed like a mystery- but for some reason, here I am at 11pm determined to solve it. It's just too fitting.

It turns out our biological clocks are real. In the world of science and medicine it's called pacemaker circadian rhythms- a cluster of neurons in the pineal gland running on perpetual 24 hour cycles. They throw out signals to our bodies indicating during which intervals we should be sleeping and during which intervals we should be awake.

 

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Clinical trials in which participants spent 33-36 days in time-isolation helped prove the role of pacemaker circadian neurons. Even with no clue as to the date or time of day, the participants spent appropriate time sleeping and awake throughout the experiment. (article here)

The bottom line is that we were designed to get sleep- and a specified amount of it. Since most of us can't sleep-in every day to obtain our required hours, the easiest way to get adequate sleep is by going to bed early. Like we did when we were kids. Find a time that works for you and guarantees 7-10 hours. The first few nights will be hard. Don't break the habit on the weekends! Pretty soon you'll be crashing every night around the same time. Remember falling asleep on the couch in your pajamas? That will happen again, so you'd better find someone strong to carry you to bed. 

So we've established that kids are more in tuned with their pineal glands, or at least they don't fight them to the extent that adults do. They listen to their sleepy bodies and give in instead of binge watching Netflix until 4am. But how does this keep them young and energetic? 

Enter the Duke-NUS study from Singapore:

"[Researchers]...found evidence that the less older adults sleep, the faster their brains age".

 

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Are you currently digesting the thought that your brain is possibly the size of a pea? Me too.

We've talked about the implications of metabolism in aging but perhaps lack of sleep is another trigger. It is an inevitable part of life as we age. Even in the relatively stress free lives of our very ancient ancestors we know lack of sleep occurred primarily because we know they procreated. 

Babies = no sleep. 

So that means as you age you will go through periods of little sleep. 

Or perhaps I should say it this way: as you go through periods of little sleep, you age. 

Sweet C's Designs Pesto Spaghetti Squash!

  

This recipe and pictures are from Sweet C's Designs! Please check out her blog and this recipe here!

 

Paleo Squash Boats

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved and de-seeded
• 4 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 
  
• 
  

Instructions

1. Cut squash in half and scoop seeds out with spoon.
2. Toss olive oil and garlic in squash, place on cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour, until soft.
4. When soft, "rake" the squash with a fork, which will make a spaghetti texture. Pull the flesh of the squash up off the shell.
5. Add pesto into squash and mix.
6. I like to top mine with red pepper flakes and a little grated parmesan.

 

 

Paleo Squash Pesto

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
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Instructions

1. Add ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the texture you like.
2. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

For the squash, mix the pesto into the squash and enjoy!

Another Plug For Intermittent Fasting

The below article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. 

 

How Fasting Might Make Our Cells More Resilient To Stress

March 26, 2015 | by Douglas Bennion and Martin Wegman and Michael Guo

Photo credit: Not too much. Pasta via www.shutterstock.com

Intermittent fasting (also called alternate day fasting) has become a popular diet. In most versions of intermittent fasting, people fast or eat very little a few days each week and then eat normal amounts during the remaining days.
Fasting is something that human beings have practiced throughout history, often out of circumstance rather than choice. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors were probably expert fasters, indulging in feasts in times of plenty, and then facing long periods of scarcity in between. With this in mind, it makes sense that our bodies' cells could perform well under the harsh conditions of feast and famine.
As a group of medical and research students, we wanted to know if fasting causes our cells to become more resilient to damage in the absence of weight loss. And do these benefits depend on the temporary stress that fasting causes in our cells?

Why not try both? Sign via www.shutterstock.com.

Intermittent Fasting May Have Anti-Ageing Benefits
Scientists have been looking at the possible health benefits of calorie restriction for years.
A prominent theory suggests these health benefits are related to the drop in blood sugar that results from fasting, which pushes our cells to work harder to utilize other forms of energy.
Rhesus monkeys eating only 70% of their normal caloric intake have been shown to live much longer and are much healthier at older ages. These anti-aging benefits have also been seen in animals that are put on an intermittent fasting diet, alternating between days of normal eating and days where calories are restricted. More recently, scientists have discovered some similar effects in humans.
What isn’t clear, though, is why intermittent fasting seems to have a benefit in the fight against aging. This question is complicated by the fact that in all studies performed in people, fasting led to weight loss. The health benefits of weight loss might be overshadowing the other benefits obtained from fasting alone.

Free Radicals Damage Cells, But Fasting May Help
One way that our cells can become damaged is when they encounter oxidative stress. And preventing or repairing cell damage from oxidative stress is helpful against ageing. This stress happens when there is higher-than-normal production of free radicals, unstable molecules that carry a loosely bound extra electron.
When the free radical encounters another molecule, this extra electron is passed along in a rapid chain reaction from molecule to molecule. When it reaches the end of the chain, it can break apart connections between atoms within important components of the cell, like the cellular membrane, essential proteins or even DNA. Anti-oxidants work by absorbing the unstable electrons before they can do any harm.
Although fasting seems to help our cells combat damage from this process, it isn’t clear exactly how that happens.
Free radicals can be generated by poorly functioning mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell). The switch between eating normally and fasting causes cells to temporarily experience lower-than-usual levels of glucose (blood sugar), and they are forced to begin using other sources of less readily available energy, like fatty acids. This can cause the cells to turn on survival processes to remove the unhealthy mitochondria and replace them with healthy ones over time, thus reducing the production of free radicals in the long-term.
It might also be true that fasting itself results in a small increase in free radical production early on during fasting.
The cells may respond by increasing their levels of natural anti-oxidants to fight against future free radicals. And although free radicals are commonly seen as harmful because of their ability to damage our cells, they might be important short-term signals for our body in this case, triggering cells to cope better with more severe stresses that may come in the future.

Do Fasting And Feasting Fight Aging?
To understand how fasting might make cells stronger, we recruited 24 people and asked them to practice an intermittent fasting diet for two three-week periods. During the first fasting period, participants ate a specially calibrated diet and during the second three week period, they ate that diet and took oral supplements of Vitamin C and Vitamin E, which are both anti-oxidants.
Because we just wanted to focus on how intermittent fasting affected cells, and not weight loss, participants ate 175% of their normal daily calorie intake on feasting days, and 25% of their normal daily intake on fasting days to prevent weight loss. We provided and carefully tracked the volunteer’s food. They ate typical American fare – things like pasta, chicken, sandwiches and desserts like ice cream.
We took samples of blood before they started and just after they ended the diet so we could compare levels of byproducts of oxidative stress and markers of strong cell functioning.
During the first three week period we attempted to see if fasting would increase oxidative stress (free radicals) in each person’s cells and to see if this stress actually led to stronger, more resilient cells.
Then we wanted to see if taking antioxidants in the second fasting period would block the free radicals caused by the fasting, preventing the cells from becoming more resilient. In other words, we wanted to know if Vitamin C and E would shelter the cells to the point that they wouldn’t be ready to stand up for themselves later on.

Vitamin C tablets via www.shutterstock.com.

How Did Intermittent Fasting Affect People’s Bodies?
We found that in response to fasting every other day, the cells made more copies of a gene called SIRT3, which is part of a pathway that works to prevent free radical production and improve cellular repair processes.
We also found a significant decrease in levels of circulating insulin, a sign that the participants bodies were more responsive to this hormone. This is important because when we become less sensitive to insulin, we are at risk for diabetes.
One somewhat surprising finding is that when participants took daily oral supplements of Vitamin C and E, the benefits from fasting disappeared. It seems that because the cells were relatively sheltered from experiencing any oxidative stress that may have been caused by fasting every other day, they didn’t respond by increasing their natural defenses and improving their sensitivity to insulin and other stress signals.
This suggests that low levels of environmental stress from things like fasting are actually good for our bodies, and that antioxidant supplements, while potentially good at certain times, might actually prevent our normal healthy cellular responses in other situations.
Although our study was relatively small and only had people fasting every other day for a short time period, we were able to pick up on a few important health benefits of fasting that happened even when people weren’t losing any weight at all. We look forward to other studies of intermittent fasting that might show more pronounced, longer-term benefits in larger groups of people.

Whole Hearted Eats Pizza

Recipe and pictures are entirely from the amazing Whole Hearted Eats! Please check out her blog here!

Incredible Squash Pizza 

Recipe: (makes one 30cm pizza)

3 Cups Mashed Butternut Squash (1 large squash)
1 Cup Almond Flour (if you want a nut free pizza, try using fine corn meal)
3/4 Cup Garbanzo Flour
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp. plus 1 Tbsp. Ground flax
1 tsp Dried Oregano

Toppings:

Green Pizza Sauce (recipe below)
A handful of pitted Kalamata olives
1 Cup cherry tomatoes (chopped)
A couple of handfuls arugula, herbs, or baby beet greens

* Or pizza sauce and toppings of choice

Procedure:

Begin by preparing the squash for roasting. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lay cut side down in a roasting pan and fill halfway with water. Cook in a 200 C (400 F) oven for 40minutes to 1 hour (adding more water as needed to top up), or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh of the squash. Let cool, then scoop out the flesh.

In a small bowl combine the 2 Tbsp of ground flax  with 4 Tbsp water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
In a larger bowl combine 3 cups of squash with the soaked flax meal, almond flour, garbanzo flour, salt, pepper, dried oregano, and extra ground flax. Stir to combine.

Spread the mixture onto a parchment lined tray and create a 30 cm (12 inch) circle, making sure that the edges are a little bit thicker. Bake in a 220 C (425 F) for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are crisp and golden and the centre is set (and can peel away from the paper). Top with pizza sauce, tomatoes, and olives, and bake for another 10 minutes. Let sit a few minutes before garnishing with greens.    

Green Pizza Sauce

Recipe:

1/4 Cup Cashews
1/2 Cup packed basil
1 Cup packed spinach
1/2 Lemon, juiced
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
8 Tbsp. Olive oil

Procedure:

In a food processor puree the cashews, basil, and spinach until smooth. Add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and oil, mix to combine.

Eternal Youth

In the name of feeling like a kid again, I listened to a TED talk the other day on aging. It was fascinating and shed some light on the whole process. We all do it. You’re doing it right now! Some people do it faster that others… but why? 
Can it be stopped? As long as you’re alive, probably not. It is the process of living that actually causes aging. Let me explain more…

Welcome to IFLAKA

Welcome! Happy to have you here at the I Feel Like a Kid Again blog- the place for all things science and health. The goal of IFLAKA is to get you feeling as excited and full of life as a kid. Here's why we think that's important:

You are not a kid. You are old. Wait! Don’t take offense to that. I meant older- ...older than you were when you were wide eyed and constantly in awe of the world. If you are reading this I assume you are over 13? At least a tween. However, with a blog title like IFLAKA I expect most of you are at old enough to reminisce about the good old days. You know which days I mean.

Why am I going on and on about feeling like a kid again? Well, for one thing, it’s a common expression, meant to convey a sense of lightness and pure joy. Most kids feel this on a daily basis over everyday things like school, or colored pencils, or gumballs.

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At a certain age we lose this joie de vivre. We disdain going school, there’s no use for colored pencils and we curse delicious gumballs for being so tasty whilst rotting our teeth.

There are moments though. Moments that surprise us. They come out of nowhere and fill us with excitement and giggles as if we were children. For some people this comes from a new car. For others it comes from traveling overseas. Often times it’s love that gives us these feelings. These events heighten our senses to the positive aspects of our surroundings leaving us giddy, happy and childlike.

Did you know kids actually have bigger nerves and taste buds? They have perpetually heightened sensitivity to their surroundings. Loud is louder, hunger is more extreme, pain is more painful, sweets are sweeter and silly is hilarious. We literally lose feeling as we age; we become desensitized to the world. A little sad, isn’t it?

Going back to those times in our lives where we momentarily feel like a kid again. Everyone has different triggers. For me nothing makes me feel younger than being healthy and learning. I feel excited and small when I learn new things about people and the world in which I live. Health and science make me feel like a kid again.

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I should have warned you first. NERD ALERT! But really- how can these things make us feel young? Well, kids are always learning. It keeps them entertained and amazed by life and the world as they know it. Feeling like everything is incredible keeps them optimistic and engaged. When we stop learning, we lose our youth. 

 

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Feeling healthy also keeps us young. As we get older we begin to lose structure. Staying up late, eating past being full, stressing over money, becoming sedentary… these are all easy patterns to fall into, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Essentially, we must become our own parents. We must set guidelines and rules that our inner child does not want to follow and we need to enforce them in order for the inner child to survive!

Go to bed early, eat your veggies, have dessert if you’ve been good, spend 30 minutes running around outside and climbing trees, go to bed early and overall, try to relax knowing that the adult in you has things under control.  Every once in a while you should even break the rules and get away with it. Work on these seemingly simple things and  you will start to see a youthful glow emerge. Energy, abounding health, great skin… happiness.

How do you even start? IFLAKA is here to provide recipes, motivation and tips for health along with the awesome-factor of burgeoning health science from around the globe.

I hope that you leave this blog encouraged, excited and recharged about life.

Happy reading to you and your inner kid :)