Living Younger and Healthier

So I guess this show that was on Oprah a few days ago was a big deal as I got 5 phone calls from family and friends asking if I had seen it. Supposedly the book, YOU: The Owners Manual is #1 on all the top seller lists and is now hard to find due to being sold out. Supposedly doctors are getting tons of phone calls and visits asking about some of the solutions and advice that were on the show. Baby aspirin is flying off the shelves because of this one show!

I didn't get to see it until today when I got home and got to watch all my recorded shows. It was an interesting show. I thought I'd share some of the info they did on how to make you Younger and Healthier.

The first segment was about 3 ways to analyze your poop. I know, I know...no, this is not the turd meme going around again.

So this doctor says that you can look for 3 things in 3 minutes:

The Sound-

If you normally hear a "plop, plop", this is not good. It means you are constipated and the food is too hard when it comes out.

You should hear a "swoosh", he says, "It should hit the water like a diver from Acapulco hits the water [swoosh]."

The Shape-

If it is just pieces, it means by the time you finish digesting, there's not enough to poop and this is hurting your Colon.

What it should look like is an S or a banana. This is healthy

The Color-

The color should be normal. (He didn't go into much detail on this one)

He also said that men pass gas 14 times a day (no surprise!). But, do you know how many times a woman passes gas? 14! And he said that only 1% of this smells.

So...the ways to help these little issues?? There are a few that I will mention in a little bit...but I'm the Water Nazi so of course I'm going to say DRINK WATER!!! Water helps everything clean out of your system and meet the standards mentioned above. Not to mention it does so much more! It clears your complexion, cures hunger pangs, gives you more energy, helps minimize wrinkles and tons of stuff I don't even know about. Yes, the daily amount is 64 oz. Ya know what, just grab a damn litter bottle of water and make sure you are done with it by the end of the day. BTW, for each can of soda you drink, ya better add another glass of water.

Another way to help this out is by eating Whole Grains. They recommend at least 3 servings of whole grains a day. It can't be just wheat...it's gotta be whole grain. Supposedly steel cut whole grains are great. They have a crunchy texture, low in calories and help drag your stuff out of your system. I've never had them...but they are supposed to be the ultimate whole grain. Whole Grains are also supposed to help prevent heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. They say that whole grains help flush fat and cholesterol out of your system and provide powerful antioxidants that help you stay healthier, look younger and live longer.

And then obviously Fiber (25 grams a day) and Magensium (400 mg a day), especially for women who take calcium supplements.

The doctor on the show made a shocking statement that 90% of the people in that audience had cancer (this part confused me a little bit...something about how cancer forms). Then he said there were 3 things we could do to decrease our risk of cancer by 50%: Folate, Vitamin D (skim milk and orange juice), and two baby aspirin. The doctor also said that tomatoes were great for fighting cancer because of the lycopene. However, to really reap the benefits, the tomatoes have to be cooked. So, bring on the tomato sauce!

Ok, there was tons of other good stuff on the show, but I'm not going to go through it all. I'm just going to go through a quick list of things we should look into and what they do for us.

Magnesium
- helps fight cancer
- keeps bowels moving
- 400 mg a day
- Beets, raisins, Soybeans and Dates

Fiber
- keeps bowels moving and cleans our "system"
- Artichokes, Lima Beans, Soybeans, Grapefruit, Blackberries and Raspberries contain high fiber.
- Whole Grain Breads and Cereals
-

Folate
- Fights Cancer
- Helps Blood Pressure
- Found in Orange Juice, Spinach and other leafy green vegetables
- 800 mcg a day

Vitamin D
- Helps fight cancer
- Non-Fat milk, orange juice
- Those that live in northern latitudes need more Vitamin D as it comes from the sun. Also those that have darker skin color need more Vitamin D as darker skin is it's own natural SPF.

Potassium
- Helps Blood Pressure
- You can find it in things like bananas and watermelon

Coffee (yes, coffee - if you don't get bad side effects)
- Helps fight liver cancer
- Helps with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease
- Helps bowel movements
- 24 oz of coffee a day is a reasonable amount

Aspirin
- Helps against Heart disease
- Decreases inflammation of the skin and wrinkles (AHA also helps with this)
- Helps against Cancer (even Breast Cancer)
- Should start taking it at age 40 for women and 35 for men if there is no cancer in your family before the age of 50.
- Should start taking it at age 25 if there is more than 2 instances of cancer before the age of 40.

Another thing said was that when changing habits, if done for 3 years you get 90% of the benefit.

So take this all with a grain of salt (please, not literally). Search online, go read some of the stuff on it, talk to your doctor, whatever you want to do. I just don't want to see a post in a year that says you have not been able to get off the toilet since reading this because I messed up and put 25000 grams of fiber a day rather than 25.