Why do we age?

Researchers have yet to unravel the mysteries with aging. But more and more is discussed around the role of the telomeres. Telomeres are the region of repetitive nucleotide sequences at each end of a chromatid, which protects the end of the chromosome.

Telomeres play an important role in cell division. As telomeres shorten, a critical threshold is reached where the cells no longer replicate and starts to decline and eventually dies.

Each time a cell divides, the DNA unwraps and the information in the DNA is copied. The process doesn t copy all of the DNA information- the telomeres are not copied. The telomeres lose a little bit of length each time this happens.

Researcher now understands more of the life of the telomeres and the mechanism by which the telomeres can be restored.

There is a lot of data from laboratory tests supporting the theory that stress and other oxidative damage also damage the telomeres and increases the rate by which telomeres are shorten.

Living a healthy lifestyle by not smoking, lowering stress levels, exercising and eating healthy are thought to slow down the rate of telomeres loss, but we can probably not undo what is already done.

While we may not be able to stop cell ageing, at least not yet, we can adopt lifestyle modifications such as avoiding excessive stress and maintain ideal weight.

Healthy living is our best defence in slowing down the sign and symptoms of ageing.

So if we eat healthy, exercise, stress less and don't smoke we can avoid many of our chronic diseases, age related diseases and ageing, so what 's stopping us?


Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

Reflections from my two weeks of vegetarian diet

I hope you have enjoyed my recipes, and maybe even tried some. If I quickly would sum up my experiences from the last two weeks, I would say – I’ll not become a vegetarian. Don’t get me wrong I loved the dishes that we made, but I very much missed fish and sometimes chicken. I could do without meat, but I would have a hard time with a diet without fish. 

I already now eat most of my lunches with raw food, but my dinner will always include fish or chicken.

There are so many amazing vegetarian recipes out there to choose from, and I’m sure I’ll do more vegetarian dishes in the future but I will not become a vegetarian.

There's no doubt in my mind that for the average person not used to cooking vegetables, they are far more intimidating than cooking meat, but that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. The first few days or maybe weeks might be hard before you get the hang of it. You need to plan a bit more; you can’t really have your fresh vegetables in the freezer. But before you know it, cooking vegetables will become just as easy as cooking meat was before.

So, if you would like to give the vegetarian diet a try for a few weeks, here are some tips;

·         Start with an open mind. You can’t really fail, have fun and try new vegetables

·         Plan your meals and give yourself extra time to cook

·         Fill your pantry with vegetarian friendly products, beans and grains

·         Don’t fall for readymade vegetarian food, cook yourself

·         Most of all have fun.

This might not be for you all the time, but why not add a few vegetarian dishes each week

Have fun and enjoy something new!!!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had the pleasure to attend a raw food seminar in August last year, which was amazing and mind opening for me. I have always eaten salads with all my meals, and really enjoyed it but to focus on raw food as your main diet is totally different.

I would not go 100% raw because I like my fish and meat every once in a while, and I love a nice warm soup on a cold winter day, but having one or two meals per day with raw vegetables and fruit is lovely.

You feel energetic, have more mental focus, your skin will glow, you will have less of those daily aches and pains, and it will give you a feeling that you are in a state of wellbeing.

Why not start with a raw lunch for a week or two to experience the difference?

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

Most of the time when I talk to clients about healthy eating and exercise, they usually answer they know it all that it’s just so hard to get around and do it.  

In seven days you can make the changes you need for a healthier you;

Monday

Eat oily fish. Healthy omega-3 fats, which are found in oily fish (salmon, trout, mackerel), assists  your cardiovascular system and keep skin soft and supple. Go for a 30 min walk, and do a short body and soul stretching routine before bedtime.

Tuesday

 

Boost your berry intake. Berries are an excellent source of vitamin C; an important nutrient that boosts you immune system and helps the skin’s collagen production. Berries are also rich in antioxidants, which help protect against the free radicals damage. Do a session with resistance training, squats, push ups, dip,s and core work.

Wednesday

Add some avocado. Avocados are an excellent source of vitamin E, one of the most powerful antioxidants, that also helps neutralize free radicals. Go for a 30 min walk, and do a short body and soul stretching routine before bedtime.

Thursday

Snack on pumpkin seeds. They supply your body with the mineral zinc, which is needed for healthy wound healing and to balance oil production in the skin. Do a session with resistance training,  squats, push ups, dips and core work.

Friday

Eat a handful of walnuts and almonds; when it comes to nuts  walnut is the king. It's a great source of the healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids, which have been found to protect the heart, promote better cognitive function, and provide anti-inflammatory benefits for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and psoriasis.

Just a quarter cup of almonds contains nearly 25 percent of your needed daily requirements of the important nutrient magnesium plus it is rich in potassium, manganese, copper, the antioxidants vitamin E, selenium, and calcium. Go for a 30 minute walk and do a short body soul stretching routine before bedtime.

Saturday

Have a cup green tea. The flavonoids in green tea are potent natural anti-inflammatory compounds that have been shown in numerous studies to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and assist the metabolic system.  Go for a 30 minute walk and do a short body soul stretching routine before bedtime.

Sunday

Munch on carrots. They are packed with beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, which helps to promote the skin’s repair and maintenance.

A week has passed and you have introduced 7 new healthy eating habits and a week’s routine of exercising. I’m sure you didn’t feel it was too strenuous, let’s aim to keep this up!

 

Life is too short not to give your body the best!!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

 

Are you a cat? Do you stretch in bed before you get up in the morning?

We know that waking up fresh in the morning is the best way of achieving our goals.  We exercise, study, work, etc., much better in the morning than other times in the day. But many of us have a hard time getting up in the morning, and really don’t feel like achieving any our life goals.
Here are some tips on how we make (as the Swedish saying goes) “morning time gold worth”. Start with the night before, during the night, and as you wake up to make you mornings something to look forward to.

Night before

·          Avoid red wine and coffee.

    Coffee and red wine have been scientifically shown to disturb your

    sleep more than any other food. Try not to have them to close to your bedtime.

·          Don’t go to bed upset.

     If you have an argument with your partner, children or friend, try to solve it. If you can't talk to the person, write down what has upset you and leave that on the paper.

·          Do a short relaxing and stretching routine before bedtime.

·          Don’t eat dinner too close to bedtime.

·          Plan your breakfast

During the night

·          Sleep with the window open

·          Try to keep your environment quiet

In the morning

·          The ideal is to wake up before the alarm, but that can be hard

·          Take a few seconds to stretch and appreciate the coming day.

·          Have a hot cup of lemon water and do your exercises.

·          Rather rise earlier than start your day with stressing to get ready.

I practices most of these points myself and the great thing is that the more of them you put into place the better you will feel.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

How do you balance healthy weight and good exercise with not too much exercise and not enough food?

As a personal trainer I constantly encourage people to exercise more and eat less, but sometimes I have to step over to the other side and tell people to do less exercise and eat more – it’s a hard balance.

Eating a banana is good for you but eating 15 bananas per day is not good for you.

We all know that exercise is good for us but how much exercise should you do?

There is no certain amount of exercise that will automatically be too much for everyone. You need to keep you training on a sensible level and listen to your body. In general, 60-90 minutes of exercises on most days of the week is good and healthy for most people as long as you recognize the need for recovery time. The right amount of exercise for you may be different from your friends and family, you should take into account you fitness level, current health, lifestyle, work situation and home situation.

Could you be overtraining? Listen to the warning signs:

•              Weight loss, muscles injuries and extreme fatigue
•              Headaches, loss of appetite and insomnia

A doctor may first suspect a problem if a woman stops menstruating due to drop in body fat, which affects estrogen levels, but if can be virtually undetectable in men whose body fat levels are often much lower without creating any health problems.

 

Too much exercise can be bad for your health, but that’s no excuse not to do anything.  You need to keep your exercise on a sensible level and listen to your body.

If you suspect that you are overtraining, see you doctor to make sure nothing else is going on, adjust you training accordingly and make sure you eat well and enough of healthy, good nutrition food.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

The holiday season is over and the hectic life is back, with the increased stress levels and the weather being hot and cold every other day your immune system may be lowered making you more susceptible to colds and flu.

But sometimes, even though you do everything according to the book to avoid the cold, uh oh, you know the symptoms! You’ve got a cold.

Most of us will either retreat and just let the cold work its way, or prop our self full of panadol, but next time you feel the sore throat try this little natural medicine, I can’t promise anything but it works fantastic for me.

Flu cure;

Squeeze one lemon in a cup (it good to use the pips too) add a tsp of honey and about 1/3 tsp freshly grated ginger, add hot water and enjoy two to three times though out the day.

Continue a few days even though you will probably feel better all ready the next day.

The best thing is; it taste good and it is pure goodness in there!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au