Healthy Weight Before 50 Spells Survival for Women.
Want to live a long and healthy life? Increasingly, research points to healthy weight—or healthy weight loss—between the ages 20 and 50.
Fat loss, particularly fat around the waistline, helps prevent cancer, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, depression, and other devastating kinds of chronic disease including Parkinson’s, MS, and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). Because women tend to live longer, they’re more likely to suffer chronic disease or mental health problems. That’s no way to enjoy longevity!
“The best way to maximize the probability of healthy survival is to maintain at least moderate levels of physical activity and healthy body weight throughout adulthood,” says researcher Qi Sun, MD, in the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health.
Reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S., obesity has also been linked to lower cognitive function (loss of memory, attention, and other thinking skills). In fact, new Canadian research finds age less important to brain function than weight.
Dr. Ann Louise’s Take:
Right from the start, healthy weight loss has been central to both my nutrition practice and my books. Unfortunately, the medical community wasted years making Americans fear healthy fat. Instead, they promoted margarine (a prime source of dangerous trans fat) and sugary, high-glycemic foods as “fat free.”
Fans of The Fat Flush Plan, one of my New York Times best-selling books, know that certain essential and healthy fats not only promote health and longevity but also healthy weight loss. By following this plan, millions of people have lost water weight and abdominal fat.
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, good fat:
· Transports fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, critical to longevity and health (vitamin D is also linked to increased survival rates for women)
· Slows the absorption of high-glycemic foods, balancing blood sugar levels and supporting cognitive function
· Is essential for serotonin, a brain chemical that fights depression and controls food cravings
· Helps conserve muscle-building protein, essential for physical activity that promotes longevity and helps maintain a healthy weight.
Every single cell in your body is protected by a membrane composed mostly of fat. Shouldn’t it be good fat if you want to prevent chronic disease—and remember exactly where you parked the car?
Your brain is 60 percent fat. Is it any wonder that good fat supports mental health, helping to fight depression and focus attention at any age? Or that your body craves fat—any fat—when you eat a high-glycemic, low-fat diet?
A little fat goes a long way. All you need is a couple of daily tablespoons of oil from fish, flaxseed, olive, macadamia nuts, sesame seeds, or even coconut. Although it’s a saturated fat, a little coconut oil doesn’t cause obesity because it’s easily converted into energy rather than being deposited as abdominal fat.
Also include some lean protein from omega-3-rich fish and seafood, grass-fed meats, and free-range poultry in your diet. Snack on low-sugar fruits (apples, berries, cherries, pears, plums). And indulge in all the low-glycemic vegetables—raw or steamed—you can eat. Arugula, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, daikon (great fat burner), jicama, kale, mushrooms, radicchio, and sprouts are great choices for healthy weight and longevity.
Sources:
http://women.webmd.com/news/20090929/womens-weight-tied-to-healthy-aging
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/339/sep29_1/b3796
http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v17/n10/abs/oby2009161a.html
What about weight loss at 60? I bike hike, play tennis, and work out with weights….but it seems like I cannot lose weight. Also what about the waist? Does it just get larger as one gets older? Is there anything to do about that? I did the Fat Flush diet 3 years ago and still follow much of the diet. I lost 6 lbs. at that time.
Ann, I am brand new and am going to start your Liver Detox on Monday, Oct 12. I have 2 questions:
1- Can I continue to take my daily handful of vitamins without affecting the effectiveness; and
2- If I get caffeine withdrawal headaches, can I have a small amount of coffee or take meds for a headache without significantly affecting the effectiveness?
Do not know which diet you refer to: Fast Track? If so, the best bet is to do the program with the Fast Detox Diet Kit which contains all of the liver detoxifiers and nutrient support to keep the detox pathyways fulling nourished during the program. Yes to second question. Please check out the Forum on this site where all of your diet and detox questions can be addressed.
I started Phase I about a month ago. I’ll be 52 next week. I lost 45 of the 60 pounds I gained previously by following a gently Ayurvedic natural diet. But I could not lose the last 15 – 20. I lost 7 in the first week of Phase I of Fat Flush Plan. I had Epstein Barr several years ago when I gained the weight, which became Chronic fatigue. I thought I was curred by following Ayurveda. Week 1 on Fat Flush Plan I was very weak – felt dizzy doing my usual gentle swim. Week 2 I could barely move. Then I got the sore throat, stabbing headach like when I had Chronic Fatigue. I was ill for week 3. I’ve added nuts back to my diet – they were a staple before Fat Flush. I also added salt.
My energy is back. But other than the 7 pound weight loss in week 1, the weight loss stopped.
Please post all diet queries and concerns on the Forum where my moderators can guide you!
For all of you on Fat Flush or Fast Track, let me say that the Forum is the best “forum” for getting your questions answered. Also, Kay, please note that if low blood pressure is a concern, then a bit of salt on a daily basis – regardless of which phase you may be on – is AOK and is part of the protocol.
I saw “Know the Cause” for the first time today
and you were talking about H-pylori. I have it, but probiotics and garlic just kill my stomach. Do you recomend any thing else. I’m 62 years old.
Dear Friends:
I would love to answer each and every single one of your queries, as I have done to the best of my ability, in the past. The popularity of this Blog has grown to the extent that I can no longer provide that service but I am in the planning stages of an Internet – TV show where you can call in and get those questions answered by me in person! Please stay tuned for this exciting development. I first must complete a new manuscript and then will make some exciting announcements. In the interim, may I suggest that if you have questions about products, call UNI KEY at 1-800-888-4353. The folks there are helpful and will direct you accordingly. If you are concerned about a particular health condition, then by all means check out the Testing Kits on my site which will help you to determine underlying causes. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and interest!