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growing youngJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

the art of®

Visualize the New Year PAGE 12

Cleansing the Body Naturally PAGE 16

The Complex World of the Vitamin B Complex PAGE 20

Healthy foods you’re probably not eating – but may want to start PAGE 8

2 THE ART OF GROWING YOUNG January/February 2015

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Contents4 From the Editor

31 Ask the Expert

5 Nutritional News

6Fitness10 Easy Ways to Ruin a Good Workout

12LifestyleVisualize the New Year

14Nutrition

Family Health22 The Importance of Vitamin D in

Brain Development and Health

24 As Old As You Feel

26 Becoming a Mentor

28 Chronic Worrying

The Art of Growing Young® is published six times a year by Lifeplus International, PO Box 3749, Batesville, Arkansas 72503, United States. Copyright © 2015 Lifeplus International

20Herbs & SupplementsThe Complex World of the Vitamin B Complex

Features8 Healthy Foods You’re Probably Not Eating –

but May Want to Start

16 Cleansing the Body Naturally

Digestive Enzymes

“Let’s take advantage of this natural atmosphere of change to help make all of the healthy changes and New Year’s resolutions that we want to make.”

Happy New Year, everyone! I can hardly believe that 2014 has passed us by already. I can honestly say that this has been an amazing year for everyone here at The Art of Growing Young. We truly live in an exciting time in which breakthroughs in science, technology and medicine open new doors nearly every day. And we have more subscribers to the magazine than ever.

It never fails that at this time every year I find myself thinking that there is something truly special about this period of time. We are all relaxing and taking a few deep breaths as the frantic whirlwind of the holiday season is gone. Our minds are slowly turning toward the future in anticipation of what spring will bring. It’s this time of transition that makes the arrival of the new year a perfect opportunity for new beginnings.

Just thinking about the idea of an old year ending and a new one beginning can be enough to create an atmosphere of change. It’s hard not to feel this phenomenon; you’ll see it reflected in several articles in this issue of the magazine.

Let’s take advantage of this natural atmosphere of change to help make all of the healthy changes and New Year’s resolutions that we want to make. Let’s get swept away with the idea that anything is possible in the coming year. There is no better time than right now to get a fresh start on achieving your goals –personal and professional – or to create new goals altogether.

As 2015 begins, let’s all take a moment to reflect on the many joys of last year, then look ahead to all of the possibilities that lay before us: our challenges, our goals, our resolutions – our futures. I can already see that great things are coming in 2015.

Have a healthy, happy New Year!

Great Things Are Coming in 2015


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Soft drinks Protect your smile by ditching soft drinks. Cola and other sodas contain phosphoric, malic, citric and other acids that strip minerals from tooth enamel. And high sugar content – also present in sports drinks and fruit juices – can lead to cavities. For a beautiful smile and strong teeth, stick to fresh, pure water and herbal teas to quench your thirst, and include plenty of foods rich in calcium and vitamin D.

Cold-water fish New evidence shows eating fish on a regular basis may benefit people with inflammation-based depression. In a recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study, participants who were given a shor t course of omega-3 fatty acids (which are found in cold-water fish) experienced a reduction in inflammation-based depression.

Are you regularly washing your hands? Proper hygiene is always important for staying healthy, but during cold and flu season it becomes especially important. The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention recommends washing hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds to help prevent the spread of infection and illness.

Garlic Garlic may help protect your healthy body during cold and flu season. Researchers found that taking garlic supplements seemed to help ward off colds during a 12-week span between November and February – peak cold and flu time in the northern hemisphere.

Nutritional News

Fitness


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10 Easy Ways to Ruin a Good Workout

Not Working Hard EnoughYou may not need to work your muscles to the point of total body

exhaustion, but you do need to give them a challenge. And the same principle goes for cardiovascular and flexibility training. Cardiovascular exercises should be at least intense enough to raise your heartbeat and elevate breathing; resistance exercises should challenge muscles; and flexibility exercises should stretch but not strain.

Wearing Uncomfortable ClothingNo matter what your workout routine

is, comfort is key. Baggy pants that keep slipping down, a too-tight sports bra that constricts breathing, shorts that ride up, a shirt that’s the wrong size, and any other clothing article that causes discomfort and needs constant readjustment will increase the chances of a workout getting cut short. This applies to headphones or earbuds as well. A motivating soundtrack can help keep you exercising longer, but constantly having to adjust your headphones can quickly get you out of the zone.

Poor Form Every exercise has a proper way of being performed in order to maximize

your effor ts. Often this is referred to as having “proper form.” For example, a long-distance runner will put unneeded strain on the body if he or she uses the same posture and form as a sprinter. Weight lifters are very aware of form because they know it means the difference between an average workout and a great one – or an injury.

Lack of Nutritional SupportIf you don’t give your body the fuel it needs to sustain energy, you could

find yourself burned out and ready to quit as soon as you begin. Eating for energy requires complex carbohydrates, healthy amounts of fat, high-quality protein and dietary fiber. These foods will supply your body with a long-lasting source of energy that keeps you powered throughout your entire workout. A high-quality protein shake taken 30 minutes after a workout along with some carbohydrate source (such as raw honey) will significantly support muscle growth and repair.

ImpatienceA sure way to turn an effective workout into an ineffective one is to be impatient

and start cutting corners. Being impatient can also mean giving up when you don’t see results right away. Even if you can’t see a difference in your body right away, every time you hit the gym or go for a run, your body will certainly benefit. It may take a few weeks before you can see anything on the outside, but that doesn’t mean your body hasn’t been getting healthier on the inside.

Irregular Workout RoutinesDoctors suggest that we engage in moderate activity most days of the

week. Essentially, the more often you’re active, the better you will feel, the healthier you will be and the more likely you will be to continue living an active lifestyle. Routines make following up easier – much easier.

Working Only One AreaThere is nothing wrong with focusing on your favorite exercise, but when you

integrate complementary workouts into your

regimen, you may see a vast improvement in your health. A cross-training regimen of strength, cardiovascular and flexibility exercises will ensure that you are able to work all areas of your body. A routine that incorporates all three areas of focus will be considerably more effective than just repeat-ing one exercise over and over again.

Not RestingWhen you really want to lose weight or you just can’t wait to build lean

muscle mass, it’s tempting to work your body as often as possible. But your body needs time to rest and recover after intense workouts. Cross-training is good for providing rest time for different areas of your body. By switching from aerobic to strength to flexibility exer-cises, you can continually work your body while giving different areas a break to recover. Perhaps even more important, though, is a good night’s sleep. It will help you recharge and wake up energized and ready for the next bout in the gym.

Setting Unrealistic GoalsA surefire way to end up frustrated is to set unrealistic goals. Smaller,

attainable goals are a far better way to motivate yourself. Even if your ultimate goal is to lose 100 pounds, if you want to stay motivated, set smaller, timely and attainable goals. Every goal you reach will boost con-fidence and self-esteem, and will keep you headed toward your ultimate goal.

Working Too Hard The saying “no pain, no gain” is sometimes taken too literally. Running too long, stretching

to the point of pain, trying to lift too much weight or pushing your body too hard is counter-productive. Once you pass a point where you are working too hard, your workout will become less effective. Or worse, damage to your body can occur, which can lead to all manner of injuries, including pulled muscles, torn ligaments or fractured bones.

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Feature Article

THE ART OF GROWING YOUNG January/February 20158

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You may have heard blueberries described as “super fruits” because of their nutritional content; now you may want to start calling quinoa a “super grain.” Quinoa contains many times more nutrients than traditional wheat and is gluten free. Rising concerns about gluten intake make quinoa a natural replacement for traditional grains. In com-parison, quinoa has 646 percent more oleic acid, 256 percent more iron, 360 percent more riboflavin and 240 percent more calcium. Quinoa may also be one of the very few vegetarian sources of a complete protein. Although there is some disagreement as to whether this is true, it is a fact that quinoa is rich in amino acids, which are the base components of protein.

The small size and mild taste of quinoa also make it a delicious, healthier alternative to white rice and couscous. Preparation is almost identical to that of rice, making it a natural substitute when making any rice dish. Or, for a tasty high-protein breakfast, honey, almonds or berries can be added to a bowl of cooked quinoa.

Quinoa is also a nutrient-packed, incredibly versatile baking ingredient. Flour made from quinoa has a slightly nutty taste and can be used to bake virtually anything, from basic

bread and bagels to exotic-tasting muffins and cookies.

Another healthy grain you may not be eating but may want to try is amaranth, which is closely related to quinoa – both are cereal grains in the goosefoot family, and both are gluten free. Amaranth is an excellent source of fiber, protein, and minerals such as iron, magnesium and manganese.

Also like quinoa, amaranth flour can be used in virtually any baking dish to replace white or wheat flour, making it a great alternative for people with wheat allergies. The nutty taste makes it especially well-suited for all kinds of home-baked breads, but pancakes, pastas and cookies made with amaranth flour are also delicious.

If you are passionate about your health, you might try eating more passion fruit. This small, oval fruit native to South America has spread all over the world in tropical and subtropical areas because it is both delicious and nutrient dense.

The juicy, sweet-tart pulp and seeds contain fiber, antioxidants, potassium and more. Add passion fruit to a fruit salad, serve it for dessert, flavor shaved ice with it, mix it

with yogurt or eat it right out of the rind. However you choose to enjoy this one, your passion for eating healthy is sure to grow.

Another food you could be eating for desserts and snacks is the acai berry. This little berry contains multiple important vitamins and minerals, omega-6 and omega-9 fats, and 16 different amino acids, and in at least one study it has been shown to contain twice the amount of antioxidants as blueberries. Acai berries are also an excellent source of fiber, protein, and minerals such as iron, magnesium and manganese.

Acai berries are as versatile as they are nutrient dense. They can be made into jellies and jams; added to shakes, smoothies and sorbets; mixed into fruit and gelatin salads; or simply eaten plain. They are increasingly finding their way into specialty juices. Even though the berry is gaining popularity as a health food, it can still be hard to find whole. More often, acai berries are found in pre-made smoothies, powdered extracts and supplements.

We’ve looked at fruits and vegetables, but what about seasonings? Herbs and spices can provide aromatic antioxidant protection. Cloves, for example, are one of the richest

The single best way to ensure your body receives the nutritional support it needs is to eat a diet filled with a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts. Here are a handful of healthy foods that you may not be eating but you absolutely will want to eat once you know their benefits.

Healthy Foods You’re Probably Not Eating – but

May Want to Start

© 2015 Lifeplus International

◊These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a diversified diet.

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known sources of antioxidants. The most common method used to determine a food’s antioxidant content is measuring ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) values, and clove oil has among the highest ORAC values ever measured. Blueberries, which are well-known for their antioxidant content, have an ORAC value of over 2,000 (per gram), and garlic around 1,900; clove oil has an ORAC value of well over 10.5 million. Other herbs and spices that are rich in antioxidants are oregano, sage, cinnamon and thyme. These are all savory flavor enhancers that fit perfectly with winter foods. Cloves and cinnamon added to a warm mug of hot apple cider add a delicious flavor that is full of antioxidants.

Speaking of winter, the common mushroom (also referred to as the white or button mushroom) contains large quantit ies of vitamin D, which many people lack during shorter winter days when it becomes harder to spend time in the sun. Mushrooms also contain B vitamins (especially niacin and riboflavin), potassium and phosphorus. Phosphorus is a key element in all life forms on earth. Humans use it to regulate cellular energy and protect healthy bones. Mushrooms also contain antioxidants (although not in the same amounts as cloves

or cinnamon) that are important for stopping oxidative stress in the body.

Yet another less common but healthy food to try is jicama, sometimes referred to as the Chinese or Mexican turnip. The edible root of the jicama plant is very rich in dietary fiber and relatively low in calories.

Jicama is a sweet-tasting white vegetable due to its simple sugar content. However, since the sugar in question is the oligofructose compound known as inulin, which the body does not metabolize, jicama dishes make excellent choices for diabetics and dieters who crave something sweet.

The last entry on our list of healthy foods you’re probably not eating but may want to is flaxseeds. A single tablespoon of ground flax-seed contains more than 2 grams of fiber. Flaxseeds also contain

some omega-3 fatty acids and display anti-inflammatory properties. Keeping a jar of whole or ground flaxseeds in your kitchen is an easy way to give your meals a quick nutritional boost. They make great additions to fruit smoothies, bowls of cereal, salads, soups and more. They are often made into low-carb crackers or added to muffins to increase their nutrient value.

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“Another healthy grain you may not be eating but may want to try is amaranth,

which is closely related to quinoa – both are cereal grains in the goosefoot family, and

both are gluten free. Amaranth is an excellent source of fiber, protein, and minerals such

as iron, magnesium and manganese.”

Lifestyle


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Visualization techniques are sometimes used as a part of holistic health practices. Learning to visualize calm and tranquil scenes can be helpful to people who deal with anxiety, for example. But the same techniques can be applied to virtually every aspect of your life. Picturing the things you want out of life – seeing yourself reaching your goals, achieving your dreams and attaining your desires – can help ensure that you accomplish all of your goals.

Regularly taking time to focus on these things can help to keep the mind focused and, just as important, help keep negative thoughts from sabotaging your goals. At a basic level, it can be thought of like this: If you are so focused on what you don’t want to happen, when will you ever be able to spend time focusing on what you do want to happen?

If you are not in the habit of visualizing your future, now is the perfect time. Think about the coming year and everything you wish to accomplish. Do you have a New Year’s resolution? It doesn’t matter if you want to find a new job, lose the holiday pounds, eat healthier or even just buy a new bicycle. When you take a few moments every day to “see” yourself accomplishing these things in a positive way, you may find that doing this brings you to your goals faster than you thought possible.

Visualizing the new year will help only if you do so while maintaining a positive frame of mind. Be aware of your inner feelings when you look into the future. It’s not necessary to catalog every individual thought. Allow yourself to feel the happiness you know

will come when you attain your goal. If your goal is to lose weight, think about how great it will feel when you buy a dress in a smaller size instead of about how your body looks to you now.

In time, as you become more aware of how you feel, you will see how your focus can influence more and more of your thoughts to become positive. Refocusing your thoughts won’t happen overnight. It is a trial-and-error process that takes time. But if you set out to live in the moment and focus on positive thinking, you will see a change in the way you view the world and the way you live your life. That change will open new opportunities you never dreamed of. It’s simply amazing what you can accomplish with the right mental outlook.

Visualizing the coming year in a positive way may not start off easy. Giving in to negative feelings often takes far less effort than remain-ing optimistic does. Don’t let picturing an amazing future give way to dwelling on hardships in the past or present. It often helps to remove as many negative influences from your life as possible and to surround yourself with positive influences, including positive people and circumstances. Positive energy attracts more positive energy, making it easier and easier to stay in the right frame of mind – and not just when you are visualizing the coming year, but in every moment of every day. What a wonderful way to live your life!

Do your best to keep positive-minded, motivating people in your life. Spend your time, as much as you can, with people who are happy and fun-loving and who realize

the wonderful life we have to live. Talk with them about positive things – again, anything positive will work for you. Don’t get sucked into negative thoughts. One of the best things to avoid is all the negative news that we see today in our newspapers, on TV and in other places. You did not come here to change the entire world. You have the opportunity to experience a joyful life. It’s all a matter of focus. When you think about it, you have enough to do in order to work on yourself! The more each individual moves from a negative to a positive focus, the better the world becomes for everyone.

Positive thought patterns attract more positive things into your life – the things you want, the things you are visualizing yourself attaining this year. If you are ever in doubt as to how your emotions are aligned, just ask yourself, “Am I feeling good (positive) or bad (negative) about reaching my goal?” If you’re feeling bad, just switch your focus to some positive person, thing or circum-stance. This puts you in harmony with positive things that will enhance your life beyond your wildest dreams.

When you’re in the right frame of mind, visualizing all the wonderful goals you will achieve this year will bring you one step closer to attaining them.

What great things do you see happening in the new year? It is a simple but profound fact that maintaining a positive mindset and choosing to focus on the things you want in life can greatly influence whether or not you achieve the goals you set out to reach.

Visualize the New Year

Nutrition


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When you see or smell something that you want to eat, your body readies the digestive process before anything even touches your lips. The tantalizing aroma and even the sight of good food start the digestive juices flow-ing inside your body. When you feel your mouth watering, that’s your body producing saliva that will help break down the food and transport it into your stomach.

The body can’t utilize food in its whole form. It must be broken down into microscopic pieces, and nutrients must be extracted. Once this happens, the body’s cells can turn it into the energy you need to keep functioning. This process begins with your teeth and tongue grinding food into more manageable pieces. Then enzymes take over.

Enzymes – about 100,000 of them – reside in every part of your body and act as catalysts in a great many processes. Simply put, enzymes help convert the initial molecules into different molecules. As a matter of fact, all biochemical reactions that take place within the human body – including energy production, immune system response, muscle function, hormone production and all other par ts of the myriad metabolic processes – require enzymes. During digestion, digestive enzymes work to convert whole foods into the tiny nutritional com-ponents utilized by the body.

Let’s go back to Grandma’s stew. Your mouth watered as soon as you smelled it. Now you’ve taken your first bite, tasted it and chewed. The broken-down pieces of food mix with the enzymes in your saliva, which start to wash away the solid structure of some of the food, helping it flow down toward the stomach as you swallow.

At this point, the digestive process is in full swing. The food has reached your stomach, where even more enzymes are waiting to go to work. Here, a combination of enzymes and stomach acid will break down your food further before passing it through to the duodenum – the area beyond the stomach and at the beginning of the small intestine. Even more enzymes are delivered here and set to work.

Digestive enzymes are produced by the pancreas and intestinal system and are required to break foods down into the individual nutrients needed by the body. From before your first bite of food until waste is excreted from the body, digestive enzymes are present and working to extract nutritional support from food. Without these enzymes, the nutrients in food are unavailable for use in the cells of the body.

There are also enzymes in the foods we eat. These naturally occurring enzymes further aid in the breakdown of a particular food.

Food enzymes can be obtained through the ingestion of fresh, raw foods and in the form of enzyme supplements.

An enzyme supplement may contain several different types of enzymes but should contain at least protease (protein-digesting) and lipase (fat- or lipid-digesting) enzymes. Quite often the enzyme cellulase is omitted because it breaks down fiber, which is not necessarily a good thing.

From that first whiff of Grandma’s stew, your body is already at work setting up the digestive cascade that will convert food into energy and nutritional support. Thousands of different enzymes exist, and they are used throughout your body in many different ways in every step of the digestion process. They are responsible for the breakdown and absorption of nutrients. Without enzymes, our bodies would have a very difficult time extracting nourishment from the foods we eat. They are a critical piece of the complex process by which our bodies convert food into energy. In fact, without them, we simply couldn’t live.

One of life’s great and simple pleasures is coming into a warm house on a cold day and smelling a delicious meal being prepared in the kitchen. Just the scent of Grandma’s famous stew bubbling away on the stove is enough to make your mouth water. That’s how it begins. Even though you haven’t even tasted anything yet, the digestive process has already started.

Digestive Enzymes

Feature Article


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Washing with soap and warm water rinses dir t and germs off the skin. We do this because we want to be healthy and we know that germs can cause illness. The same dirt, germs and bacteria that can accumulate on the outside of your body can build up on the inside of it too if you don’t take steps to keep it clean. Keeping the inside of your body “clean” generally means flushing out accumulated toxins or preventing them from being absorbed in the first place.

Toxins can enter the body through the air we breathe, the food we eat, the beverages we drink and chemicals that contact our skin. Some toxins are even manufactured by the body as a normal par t of internal main-tenance. The toxins may come from a variety of sources, but fortunately the body has an equally diverse assortment of tools at its disposal to remove them.

Under optimum circumstances the human body is capable of ridding itself of nearly all of these toxins before they accumulate and become harmful. But the body can do this only if you provide it with the right “tools” – the right foods. The body uses nutrients in the healthy foods we eat to cleanse itself from the inside out. Generally speaking, fruits and vegetables contain the tools your body needs.

A large amount of the toxins, dirt and bacteria that can enter our bodies – whether from contaminated foods, chemical preservatives,

unhealthy meal choices or other sources –comes through the digestive tract. Luckily there is no need to worry, because many of these toxins can be easily expelled by consuming a high-fiber diet. Fiber is not absorbed by the body, and it binds with certain contaminants, carcinogens and fats. Once bound to fiber, these unwanted intruders are prevented from entering the body through absorption.

For optimum cleansing, the body requires two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Throughout digestion, soluble fiber traps sugar, fat and cholesterol, which slows their absorption into the body. Because of this, soluble fiber is often a primary ingredient in over-the-counter products that support colon health and cleansing.

For total health the body also requires insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber has many jobs, including helping to regulate intestinal pH and facilitating faster removal of toxic waste through the colon. Insoluble fiber can easily be obtained by eating a range of fruits and vegetables.

One of the best sources of body-cleansing fiber is psyllium. This small, unassuming plant from India contains significant amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber, making it a near perfect source of fiber.

Despite its advantages, don’t rely solely on psyllium for your fiber needs. Whenever

possible, dietary fiber should be obtained from multiple sources. Most plant-based foods are sources of fiber, but some of the richer ones are whole-grain breads and cereals, couscous, rolled oats, lentils, peas, squash, yams, and sweet potatoes (with skins on). A few of the best sources of fiber are flaxseed, guar gum and brown kelp.

An easy, color-coded way of including more high-quality fiber in the diet is to switch from white to brown. For instance, choose brown rice and pasta instead of white. Additionally, leaving the skin or peel on fruits and vegetables is a good practice, as these are often the most fiber-filled parts of plant-based foods.

Fiber is a wonderful tool, but it is far from the only nutrient to benefit your body by cleansing it from the inside out. Within your digestive tract there is an entire ecosystem of microorganisms that help your body digest food and keep your immune system working properly. The bulk of these tiny organisms are various bacteria, but fungi and protozoa are also present. Collectively these are referred to as “gut flora.”

Healthy bacteria, such as those found in fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi and kombucha as well as others found in supplements, are collectively referred to as “probiotics.” Consuming as many of these tiny living organisms as possible is beneficial because these healthy bacteria compete

You take the time to keep your body clean on the outside by washing and showering, but what about the inside of your body? How do you keep your body clean on the inside, and what does that even mean?

Cleansing the Body Naturally

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with potentially disease-causing bacteria in your digestive tract. If you have a thriving population of healthy bacteria, there are fewer resources for unhealthy bacteria to utilize.

Free radicals are another group of toxins that sometimes need to be cleansed from the body. Free radicals can enter the body from cigarette smoke, smog, radiation, herbicides, poisons and other environmental sources. They enter the body when we breathe polluted air or eat contaminated foods. They can even be absorbed by the skin.

Still other free radicals are actually formed by essential processes within the body. When the human body burns fuel (food) for energy, the metabolic process creates free radicals. A healthy immune system also creates certain free radicals as a way to fight infec-tion. These are healthy, normal processes, but even these free radicals must be dealt with by the body so they do not accumulate.

Free radicals attack the body from the inside out, wreaking havoc at the cellular level. Over the years, substantial evidence has emerged pointing to free radicals as a cause of premature aging.

Ordinarily, eating a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables supplies the body with the antioxidants it needs to remove the buildup of free radicals. When this isn’t possible or when overexposure to

environmental contaminants occurs over time, it may be prudent to find a way to ingest more antioxidants.

Many antioxidants work together in synergistic networks, allowing them to neutralize many more free radicals than is otherwise possible. On its own, once an antioxidant quenches a free radical, it is not able to continue stopping other free radicals. However, in these networks, the antioxidants support one another, allowing

them to stop free radicals over and over again.

Vitamins A, C and E are all well-known and proven antioxidants. One particular class of powerful antioxidants are OPCs (oligomeric proanthocyanidins) . These versatile nutrients are extremely efficient because they inherently work together in a way that allows them to share electrons in order to halt the damaging chain of free radical reactions.

Periodic cleansing of the body helps remove toxins and waste accumulated from the stresses of modern life. Periodic, brief fasts during which a person consumes only water and herbal teas, as practiced throughout history, can allow the body to cleanse itself of wastes and toxins. We all clean the outsides of our bodies; why not the insides too? Eating a diet rich in fiber, antioxidants and probiotics, as well as drinking plenty of fresh, pure water, will help keep you clean and healthy, inside and out.

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“One of the best sources of body-cleansing fiber is psyllium. This small, unassuming

plant from India contains significant amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber,

making it a near perfect source of fiber.”

Herbs & Supplements

THE ART OF GROWING YOUNG January/February 201520 THE ART OF GROWING YOUNG January/February 2015

Because some nutrients were once (but no longer are) considered vitamins, there are gaps in the vitamin B numbering system. Another reason the B complex is so complex is that all eight of the vitamins must be present for many of the systems in the body to function. The B vitamins are required for neurotransmitter synthesis, amino acid interconversion, and production of some hormones and fatty acids. They also play important roles in converting carbohydrates into energy, helping relieve chronic stress and fatigue, and even helping form the building blocks of DNA.

A vitamin is defined as a nutrient that the body cannot make for itself so it must be provided in the diet or in some other way. Because there are so many different B vitamins, there is a wide variety of ways to obtain them from your diet. If your diet is rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, you are probably consuming most of the B vitamins without even realizing it. Meat, fish and dairy also contain B vitamins. Molasses, liver and brewer’s yeast are exceptionally good sources of the vitamin B com-plex. Consequently, Marmite and Vegemite (yeast-derived salty foods) are loaded with B vitamins. See the chart for an in-depth listing of which foods contain which B vitamins.

As with all nutrients, the ideal way to consume B vitamins is through a healthy, varied diet. However, for many people this isn’t possible for a variety of social, scientific and econo-mic reasons. If you think your diet does not contain enough vitamin B and you choose

to supplement, be sure to find a high-quality supplement with the phrase “vitamin B complex” on the label. This is the term used to refer to all of the known B vitamins.

Whether through diet or supplements, obtaining the whole spectrum of B vitamins is vital. Each one plays a specific role in

the body, but they also work together. For example, the body cannot utilize B12 (important for brain and nervous system function as well as formation of blood cells) without folic acid (B9). Similarly B9 and B6 cannot function properly without B2. If you were to chart the many ways in which the

B vitamins work together, it would resemble an elaborate spiderweb of interconnections.

Vitamin B1, also known as thiamin, is required in every single cell in the human body for energy production; a deficiency of thiamin results in the disease known as beriberi, which ends in fatal congestive heart failure

if not treated. There has been a lot of research in the past several years on how B12 may be able to help prevent depression. For these reasons, and their ability to affect mood and energy levels, several B vitamins are often found in energy drinks.

Folic acid, one of the more common B vitamins, helps form the building blocks of DNA and therefore is crit-ically important during rapid tissue growth. This is why it is so often recommended for pregnant women and women who are trying to become pregnant.

Some studies have also shown vitamins B6 and B5 may greatly help fight stress. Clearly, the B complex is as diverse as it is important for optimum health. Every part of the human body requires at least one of the many B vitamins. Because of the complex way in which they work together, it is impossible to say that

any one B vitamin is more impor tant than another. For this reason, it just makes sense to give your body the whole vitamin B complex.

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What makes the B vitamin complex so complex? There are eight B vitamins that can be listed under more than 11 different names. Each one has a unique structure and plays a specific role in helping the body function at optimal levels.

The Complex World of the Vitamin B Complex

VITAMIN GREAT SOURCES

B1

B2

B3

B5

B6

B7

B9

B12

Whole grains, peanuts, beans, spinach, molasses

Almonds, milk, Brussels sprouts, soybeans, eggs

Yeast, red meat, milk, beans, eggs

Avocados, yogurt, eggs, legumes

Chicken, tuna, salmon, lentils, seeds, carrots

Barley, liver, yeast, nuts, potatoes, fish

Dark leafy greens, asparagus, beets, root vegetables

Fish, shellfish, eggs, beef, dairy

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From infants to teenagers, growing children have an endless list of nutritional require-ments. No one nutrient can be said to be more important than the others, because each and every one plays a critical role in your child’s development. Vitamin D is no exception. In fact, it’s so important that it could be considered a nutritional safety blanket for your growing child.

Vitamin D is most often associated with healthy bones, and for good reason. The sunshine vitamin is indeed a critical com-ponent to building strong, healthy bones – a process that occurs in our younger years. The body usually stops actively making new bone tissue during a person’s early 20s. Every time you send your children outdoors to play, you are helping to ensure they experience a lifetime of strong bones.

The body also uses vitamin D to keep a healthy immune system functioning properly. Consequently, during cold and flu season (which we are currently in), it may be especially prudent to spend time in the sun. Studies have shown that populations in higher latitudes that experience even less sun tend to experience more cases of illness during the winter.

Perhaps the most important benefit from vitamin D for our children is its role in healthy brain development. Multiple studies have found significant associations between

intellectual function and higher vitamin D levels in the body. Scientists have seen that from the very beginning stages of life, vitamin D plays a key role in healthy brain growth. Vitamin D is apparent in the brain early in development and increases the nerve growth factor. Put simply, vitamin D helps the brain grow.

In addition to its role in cognitive function, vitamin D is also a natural mood enhancer. This property means it may be helpful for older kids to spend time in the sun during their tumultuous teenage years.

More and more research is showing that vitamin D helps protect the brain against several neurodevelopmental disorders. There is even some evidence that low prenatal vitamin D levels put unborn infants at risk for neurodevelopmental problems. Clearly, the sunshine vitamin has a lot to offer our children in terms of health and happiness throughout their entire lives. When the sun’s ultraviolet rays are weak during the winter, vitamin D supplements become that much more important to everyone’s diet, especially your children’s.

The easiest way to help ensure your child’s body has ample amounts of vitamin D is to encourage him or her to play outside for exposure to direct sunlight. The only way the body is able to manufacture vitamin D is through direct, unfiltered sun exposure.

Some parents are uneasy about exposing their children to too much sun because they fear skin damage from sunburns. However, all it takes is 10–20 minutes of unprotected time in the sun every day for the body to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D.

There is so much more to vitamin D than just strong bones. Nearly every part of the body uses vitamin D in some way. Yet some estimates put the risk of people with vitamin D deficiency at over 1 billion world-wide. Protecting your children from the many problems that arise from inadequate amounts of vitamin D is as easy as getting them out in the sun for a few minutes every day, or making sure they eat fortified foods and formula.

Vitamin D is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because it can be manufactured only when the body is exposed to direct sunlight with strong ultraviolet rays. The shorter days we experience during winter months mean less sun exposure and less ultraviolet in the sun exposure we do get, and therefore many of our children may not have adequate amounts of vitamin D in their systems.

The Importance of Vitamin D in Brain Development and Health

Family Health


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As Old As You Feel

Do you act as old as you are, or as old as you feel? Age is only one of the many factors that influence a person’s health and state of being. It’s entirely possible to be healthier and more active at 40 than you were at 20.

Rising life expectancies, better knowledge, advanced technology and shifting cultural norms are changing the way we live – people are able to stay active later into life than ever before.

In just the past couple of centuries, our stages of life have shifted dramatically. It wasn’t all that long ago that men and women married and had children while still in their teens. Now, people are marrying later and sometimes put off having children until their 30s or 40s.

These and similar changes are due largely to rising life expectancies. At the end of the 19th century, the average life expectancy in Western Europe was only about 37. Now, most industrialized nations have average life expectancies of 75 or higher. Although we must take into account higher infant mortality in earlier times, people are never-theless living longer these days.

Don’t let yourself feel restricted by your age. Get down on your hands and knees and play in the sandbox with your grandchildren if you want. If you’ve always dreamed of becoming a teacher, go back to school and start substitute teaching, or volunteer at a local elementary school to help kids learn to read by reading to them. Do what you want to do. Living your life the way you want to is at the heart of staying young.

Living your life according to how old you feel rather than how old you are does more than just allow you to stay active and enjoy life. It can impact other areas of health as well. Research has shown that when older people have a positive view of aging, they are much more likely to fully recover after experiencing a severe injury than are people who have a negative outlook on aging.

With better medicine, science and nutrition, we are capable of staying healthier later into life, but only if we take care of ourselves by eating a healthy diet, engaging in regular physical activity, staying mentally active and nurturing friendships with positive-thinking, like-minded people.

Learning new things every day will exercise your brain. As we age, mental capacity becomes very much a case of “use it or lose it.” Engaging your mind is as easy as picking up a book or doing a crossword puzzle, or as involved as going back to school. Remember, an active mind is a young mind.

Laughing and staying in a positive frame of mind will help keep you feeling young and bring more positive experiences into your life, such as recapturing moments from your youth. We all have “cellular memory” and can recapture youthful vitality from such memories.

Love yourself, your friends and your family –and relish the love they feel for you. Main-taining close personal relationships with positive-minded people has numerous benefits in the quest for healthy aging.

Stay ing close to friends and family will naturally create a positive support group, which in turn will lead to physically and mentally stimulating activities. Loving rela-tion ships keep you connected to life and feeling young at heart.

Live your life the way you want to, at the age you feel instead of the age you are. Our lives are no longer dictated by a fixed series of stages. School, marriage, job, family, retirement – you can now choose the order in which you want to accomplish these milestones. It is now much more acceptable to go back to school later in life, to change careers several times, to stay single longer.

Living, loving, laughing and learning often work together. Playing chess in the park with a close friend, discussing politics over dinner with your family, helping a grandchild build a model, reading a good book aloud to a spouse–these are a few activities that can encompass all of the four “Ls.”

Rising life expectancies and advancements in medical science are keeping us healthier longer. With the latest in medical and nutritional sciences to help us along, now more than ever, we are only as old as we feel. To truly feel young again, stop acting your age and start acting as old as you feel.

Parents often tell their children to act their age in order to get them to comport. For those of us who are getting on in years, better advice may be to stop acting our age. It’s a new year; let your new plans and outlook reflect your inner self rather than your outer age.

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Every child deserves to succeed in life, and you can help make that happen. Believe it or not, your unique life experiences and out-look can help a child grow into a successful adult. If you’re not comfor table around children, young adults and professionals need mentors too. Helping a new hire at your office is another form of mentoring you might consider.

Becoming a mentor will give you an incredibly rewarding new purpose. Many men who don’t find personal satisfaction at work dis cover that mentoring someone in need provides more than enough satisfaction and increases feelings of self-worth. When you mentor a child, teen or adult, you are not just helping out someone in need – you are also helping yourself.

Becoming a mentor can bring genuine joy into your life. Helping other people just plain feels good. It won’t take many meetings with your young protégé before you start to notice how good you feel and how much you look forward to your next meeting. And your mentee will be feeling the same thing. His or her successes in life will also be your successes, which boosts everyone’s self-esteem and happiness.

Mentoring now will also pay off later. Dealing with unexpected and unpredictable cir-cum stances is absolutely one of the best ways to exercise your brain, and there are few things in life as unpredictable as another human. This is not to say that mentoring will be a constant struggle with the unpredictable. However, it will challenge you to think dif-ferently and engage in new relationships.

This is great exercise for your brain that will pay off later in life.

There are more long-term benefits to mentoring than just helping to prevent mental illnesses such as Alzheimer’s. There is hard science showing that seniors who form and maintain strong relationships have fewer physical limitations and are able to live more active, pain-free lives.

Equally important to what you gain from a mentoring relationship is what your mentee will gain from it. Every man can think back to a time in his life when he felt lost and confused. Whether it was for a day, a month, a year or longer – we all have had times we wished we had someone to talk to. Becoming a mentor is your chance to fulfill that wish for someone in need. In doing so, you will discover that you both are able to get more out of life.

Where can you go to volunteer your time? Community service organizations, churches, hobby clubs and schools are all good places to look for someone who needs a mentor. Teachers, friends and single parents are all good resources. Ask people in your own circle of friends and family if they know anybody who could benefit from having someone to talk to. You may be surprised at how many people know of someone in need.

The relationship you have with your protégé can be formal or informal, personal or professional. You can set up regular meetings or keep a loose schedule – whatever works best for the both of you. There is no one right

way to be an effective mentor. By investing as little as a few hours of your time each week, you can improve your life and the life of a young person.

Every guy has something to offer to a person who feels a bit lost. Go ahead and flatter yourself. What are you good at in life, and how can that help somebody? If you’re good at sports, maybe you would enjoy mentoring someone who wants to get in shape. If you’re a good listener, you might enjoy regularly meeting a chatty teenager for coffee. Think about all the life experiences you have been through and what you have to offer.

No matter what your par ticular skill is, somebody can benefit from it. Putting it to use by becoming a mentor is a fun and truly fulfilling experience that will grant you a new purpose and a new way to get more out of life in the coming year.

Are you looking for a new resolution, a new purpose or a new way to get more out of life in 2015? Becoming a mentor can fulfill all of these goals and so much more.

Becoming a Mentor

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Chronic worrying can be more exhausting than even the most stressful workday. It can make you feel mentally drained and physically exhausted. To make matters worse, the same worries can affect sleep, keeping you from getting a much-needed night of rest, which exacerbates the problem. When you worry, you are not living in the present and are missing out on the joy of the moment.

As worries mount and sleep dwindles, the accumulated physical toll can eventually lead to bigger health problems. A major study found that workers who considered themselves burned out from stressful jobs had as much as a threefold higher risk of developing heart disease and stroke than did those who did not consider themselves burned out. Worries and jobs go hand in hand. How often have you asked yourself, “Am I performing well enough?” Or “Will I meet that deadline?” For women, who are often viewed as the primary person responsible for managing the family, these worries may be compounded by the pressure to take care of children. Meeting a tight deadline can be a lot tougher if a woman has to leave work early every day to pick her children up from school.

Sometimes women let their worries build up inside because they don’t want to be per-ceived as weak in the office place. Other times they simply don’t realize just how much they have been worrying.

Busy, high-pressure lives “normalize” worry and stress until we can hardly picture a life without constant worries. When this happens, we worry and worry until we burn ourselves out, despite knowing that carrying around too much worry can be a detriment to our health. Doctors have known for years that too much stress and worry can have a damaging effect on the heart. Yet many

women continue to keep their feelings inside, letting the worry grow.

Paying attention to your feelings is a good way to gauge your stress level. If you notice that you’re feeling rundown but you are not sure why, there could be a stressor in your life that you haven’t quite noticed yet.

Leave a chronic worrying habit in 2014 by eating a healthy diet, getting enough regular exercise, making time for purposeful relax-ation and accepting support from loved ones. Most important, focus on the present and on what makes you feel good. All those “what ifs” are just that – “What if . . . ?” They are not real.

A healthy diet helps safeguard against chronic worries in several important ways. First, a diet rich in fresh fruits and vege-tables contains antioxidants that have been shown in studies to help reduce free-radical surges that accompany bouts of extreme stress. Staying focused on healthy foods also helps keep us from turning to comfort foods during stressful times. Additionally, a healthy diet will provide longer-lasting feelings of fullness to further prevent stress eating and a stable energy supply to fight against fatigue.

One of the best ways to stop worrying is to make time to relax. It doesn’t matter what activity you find relaxing as long as it leaves you feeling calm and centered. A relaxing day spent reading a good book can be just as effective against worrying as a day at the spa. So can taking a hike through the woods or listening to your favorite musician if it helps you escape from your worries.

Just as a relaxing massage can help fight worries, so can a long run. When you can’t shut your mind off from your worries, physical activity is great because when you get active,

your body releases hormones that make you feel good. After those hormones have lifted your spirits, a good workout will also help you sleep better at night.

Last on this list of worry-fighting activities, but certainly not least, is relying on support from friends and family. Even if there is no immediate solution to your current worry, simply talking about your problems can be extremely therapeutic. Sharing with a friend might bring out stories of a similar problem that she went through. Or the two of you might brainstorm to find a solution you never would have thought of alone. We are all in this world together, and assisting each other is a basic part of being human.

In addition to eating well, relaxing, exercising and accepting support from loved ones, always make an effort to pay attention to your feelings. Are you feeling mainly positive or mainly negative throughout the day? If you notice yourself feeling mainly negative, switch your focus to some positive thought. Then pay attention to how your internal feelings change. It’s amazing how your whole demeanor can change and your stress level can come down. And you can do this at any moment: during a discussion, while in a meeting, during a meal or while driving down the road.

Self-care extends beyond eating right and exercising. Taking care of yourself mentally and emotionally will help make chronic worrying a thing of the past, making your future brighter than you ever thought pos-sible. Remember, those “what ifs” are just that; they are not real, but a trick your mind is playing on you to distract you from what is real.

If you leave one bad habit behind in 2014, choose chronic worrying. The new year will be happier, easier and more energy-filled if your 2015 New Year’s resolution is to give up chronic worrying.

Chronic Worrying

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Can women suffer from heart disease?Both men and women tend to think of heart disease as a health issue that only men need to think about. But according to the Mayo Clinic, the reality is that more women than men die of heart disease each year. A healthy diet and regular exercise can help control weight, blood pressure and cholesterol, which are three risk factors for developing heart disease. Stress management exercises and avoiding tobacco products can also help protect your body. Whether you are a man or a woman, making healthy lifestyle changes can have a dramatic impact on many areas of health, not just heart health.

Is it natural to be depressed during the winter?Too many short days that provide less-than-optimum amounts of sunlight have been linked to feelings of sadness and depression. Whether it’s just a mild case of the winter blues or full-fledged Seasonal Affective Disorder, there are many people around the world who feel some level of depression during the winter. Fortunately, many people find relief from their winter blues by doing nothing more than increasing their exposure to bright light. Spending as much time outdoors as possible during the day, and using bright lights (10,000 lumens) for an hour in the morning on cloudy days, is often helpful to get past a midwinter slump. Exercise and vitamin D are also helpful in chasing the winter blues away. A vacation to sunny climes in the middle of winter can do wonders as well. However, if you feel that you may have more than just a case of the winter blues, visit your doctor. Don’t let low light keep you under the weather.

Ask the Expert

Is skipping lunch a healthy way to lose weight?It may sound logical – avoiding a meal means avoiding calories – but skipping lunch or any other meal often makes it even harder to lose weight. Setting aside the basic fact that it just isn’t healthy to deprive your body of nutrients, skipping meals has an effect on the body that makes it nearly impossible to lose weight and keep it off. Hunger is the number one enemy of dieters. When hunger hits and cravings strike, people tend to eat whatever is closest and easiest. Often this means prepackaged junk foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients. Even worse, when these cravings hit, it’s often because a dieter has been skipping meals, which means the body has entered starvation mode and will store as much energy as possible. Energy is stored in the body as fat. Many people have found that when they eat more often, they have better success with weight management. Five to seven small, healthy meals a day can help keep cravings at bay while providing a steady source of energy and nutrition.

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