1. Nutrition tip…
It is always easier to eat healthier if you have healthier choices available when you need food. If unprepared, you’ll grab whatever is fastest and easiest… which is pre-packaged, sugar-laden, and non-real foods. I usually make chicken on Sundays for the week. I used to use chicken breasts, but now use chicken thighs, because I want the higher fat (and it is easier to cook… is more juicy… and tastes better). Having those chicken thighs cooked and ready to go makes it very easy to just reheat and eat at any time. If I get tied up and don’t have anything for dinner, that chicken is there. And if my kids text me saying, “There is nothing to eat,” I get to say “Oh yes there is… that chicken.” See the pic below of last Sunday’s chicken thighs cooking on the griddle.
2. One of our biggest nemeses…
This week’s blog, titled “The Next Public Enemy #1,” is about sugar. Most people do not realize how bad sugar is for them, how prevalent it is in almost everything we eat, and how important it is to cut down on. In addition to the blog, which you can read by clicking here, I wanted to share a well done infographic to help bring the point home even stronger. Click here to check it out! The stats are unbelievable.
3. Word you should know…
Autophagy: the breaking down of old and dysfunctional cells in order to recycle the useful parts of those cells, and discard what is unneeded. It is a phenomenal process for cellular and tissue regeneration. The word autophagy literally means “self-eating” (auto = self, and phagy = eat). The body gobbles up debris, broken parts of cells, and eliminates irregularly functioning cells. I believe it is a key to slowing the aging process, knocking out cancerous cells, and optimizing function. So… how do you trigger autophagy??? Fasting! Yep, when you miss meals, your body triggers this life-saving mechanism. Unlike our ancestors, who regularly missed meals, allowing autophagy to do its thing, we need to actively plan missing meals through what is called intermittent fasting (also known as timed eating). This is why I seldom eat breakfast on weekdays, regularly do 24-hour fasts, and periodically do 36 or 72-hour fasts. I did a 24-hour fast this week, meaning I ate dinner, skipped breakfast and lunch the next day, and did not have anything but water until the next dinner. Enhancing your body’s ability to trigger autophagy, I believe, is one of the absolute most powerful things you can do to improve your health. I will blog about fasting in much more detail later this month.
