Key To Good Health

The World Health Organization stated, “At least 80 percent of all heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, and up to 40 percent of cancer could be prevented if people ate better, engaged in more physical activity and quit using tobacco.”

According to Facts & Statistics, HHS.gov, “Americans eat less than the recommended amounts of vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, dairy products, and oils. About 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended (around 3400 mg daily) for a healthy diet. Reducing the sodium Americans eat by 1,200mg per day could save up to $20 billion a year in medical costs.”

Eating better means reducing intake of foods that are harmful and eating foods high in nutrition, which is the key to health. Foods high in nutrition build healthy cells in your body, which in turn creates a healthier body. Foods high in potassium, amino acids, omega 3s, and antioxidants, are necessary to maintain healthy body cells. Read on to learn how these are the key to health:

Potassium: Potassium has many health benefits, but perhaps its most important concerns potassium (K) the K-Factor. Potassium (K) is known to be a huge benefit in controlling hypertension. Hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure, which results when there is a high force of blood against artery walls, which can result in heart disease and stroke. Dr Richard Moore, in his book, “The High Blood Pressure Solution” explains the K Factor as a balance between potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) ions in and between the cells of the body. This Na/K ‘pump’ operates like a battery, pumping sodium out and potassium in. The “K – Factor” is supposed to be high. In other words, there should be more potassium than sodium in the relationship. Dr. Richard Moore recommends a target K Factor of four (4 Potassium to 1 Sodium) because in diets he has monitored where there was any significant occurrence of high blood pressure, the K Factor was less than three.

It has been estimated, that 1/3 of the calories consumed run the sodium-potassium pumps located on the surface membranes of every cell. When the K-Factor is low, the battery that runs the pumps does not operate properly, which affects several other mechanisms in the cell, which in turn causes hypertension. A low K factor results in the battery losing its charge and that affects the calcium pump which pushes calcium out as sodium goes in. When the tiny arterial muscle cells contract with too much calcium, it constricts the pathway the blood goes through, and this constriction produces hypertension.

Too much calcium in the cells also results in insulin resistance, which means it decreases a cell’s ability to remove glucose from the blood.

What foods are the best sources of potassium? We have always heard, eat plenty vegetables and fruits of all different colors. There is a very good reason; they have a high content of potassium which helps to maintain healthy body cells.

For more information on controlling blood pressure, read Dr. Richard Moore’s book: “The High Blood Pressure Solution”

Amino acids: Protein makes up 50 percent of our body’s dry weight. The building blocks of protein are amino acids. Therefore, amino acids are essential for cell renewal, or cellular respiration. Amino acids are also responsible for thousands of other important functions, turning into energy the foods we eat, providing immunity from disease, building muscles by creating hormones, building blood and organs, liver function, digestion, rapid wound healing etc.

There are nine essential amino acids that the body can only synthesize from the foods we eat. If we do not eat the proper foods our body lack those needed nutrients, which results in the body not renewing cells properly. That can lead to exhaustion, dizziness, nervousness, and other complications as mentioned above.

Fortunately, many delicious foods contain essential amino acids. In order to get all 20 essential amino acids, we need to eat a wide variety of foods from many sources because different foods have different amino acid profiles. The majority of essential amino acids are found in fruit, dairy products, meat, dried beans, soy, seeds (Hemp seeds contain all nine essentials for protean), nuts, whole grains, peas, and legumes.

Omega 3s Fatty Acids: Ordinarily, we think of dietary fat as being bad. That is not always true; there is good dietary fat that the body needs. Good dietary fat helps the body several ways: Good fat helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins E, D, A, and K, and beta-carotene as well as phytonutrients like antioxidants.

Our bodies can’t generate omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, so we must get them in the food we eat. There is usually plenty of omega-6 in our diet but sometimes not enough omega-3s, which is essential in fighting inflammation, reducing the risk of heart disease, enhancing brain function and development, and preserving muscle mass. There are many delicious foods which are high in omega-3s, flax seeds, flax oil, salmon (fresh or canned), sardines, pumpkin seeds and walnuts to name a few. Sprinkling a tablespoon of flax seeds over your salad or including a couple tablespoons of pumpkin seeds in your smoothie is a convenient way to boost your omega-3s.

Antioxidants: An important benefit of antioxidants is they control free radicals. Free radicals are both good and bad. On the good side, our bodies can produce free radicals for a purpose. For example, free radicals are produced by the liver to detoxify the body, while white blood cells use free radicals to destroy bacteria, viruses and damaged cells. The body itself also makes some antioxidants, while others must be gotten from the food we eat. Eating foods high in antioxidants control free radicals and also double as anti-inflammatory agents.

On the bad side, free radicals can damage otherwise healthy cells. Like many things, the body must maintain a balance. Vitamin E and other antioxidant nutrients help control free radicals and the damage they do. Eating 4-6 servings of fruits and vegetables high in anti-oxidants per day can greatly benefit your health.

If you are interested in understanding how free radicals and antioxidants interact, it is necessary to understand a little about atoms, molecules and cells.  Atoms and molecules make up cells. There are many different types of cells in the human body, together numbering in the billions and consisting of many different types of molecules. Molecules have one or more atoms joined by chemical bonds. Atoms consist of a nucleus, neutrons, protons and electrons.

It is of an essence that cells have the essential number of electrons in their outer shell. In order for atoms to reach a state of maximum stability, they will try to fill their outer shell either by gaining or losing electrons or by sharing electrons by bonding together with other atoms.

Free Radicals are formed when atoms are short an electron in their outer shell. It is abnormal for bonds to split leaving a molecule short an electron, but occasionally it happens creating free radicals. Free radicals are very unstable and start trying to capture the missing electron in order to become stable. Therefore, they damage stable healthy molecules by stealing their electron and when the attacked molecule loses its electron, it becomes a free radical, producing a domino effect resulting in the damage of a living cell.

There are a number of reasons free radicals are formed. Cigarette smoke is a major cause along with environmental pollution, radiation, and herbicides, and even exercise. The body normally handles free radicals. However, if there is a shortage of antioxidants in the body, free-radical production multiplies and damage to cells can occur.

Antioxidants help prevent free radical damage. The short and simple answer is that antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating one of their electrons to complete the outer shell, therefore, stopping the free radical from stealing electrons and damaging other cells. The best way to ensure your body is getting adequate antioxidants is by eating 4-6 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, which are high in antioxidants. When the body contains inadequate antioxidant levels due to poor nutrition, free radicals bring havoc to the body. The result is damaged or mutated cells, broken-down tissue, and introduction of harmful genes within the DNA, overloaded immune system, poor health, and accelerated aging.

The benefits of consuming antioxidant foods are enormous:

• Slows the aging process
• Reduces the risk of cancer
• Longer life
• Reduces risk of heart disease and stroke
• Decreases risk of dementia
• Better vision and less risk of cataracts and macular degeneration etc.

List of 10 top foods high in antioxidants:

1. Wild blueberries
2. Goji berries
3. Elderberries
4. Blackberries
5. Cranberries
6. Tree nuts
7. Dark chocolate
8. Artichokes
9. Kidney beans
10. Cilantro

Other high antioxidant foods: Organic strawberries, carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds, kale, pomegranates, grapes, squash, broccoli, and wild-caught salmon (fresh or canned). We should try to eat four or more servings of high antioxidant foods each day for good health.

The bottom line: The key to health is supplying our body with the nutrients it needs to maintain healthy cells. Therefore, it is extremely important to know which foods are the highest in nutrition that supports healthy cells and include them in our diet daily.Share and Enjoy:

Tags: Aging Health, Blood Flow, Dementia, Good Health, Heart Disease High Blood Pressure
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