Oxidative stress...WHY ME!

OXIDATIVE STRESS: is caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or easily repair the resulting damage. All forms of life maintain a reducing environment within their cells. This reducing environment is preserved by enzymes that maintain the reduced state through a constant input of metabolic energy. Disturbances in this normal redox state can cause toxic effects through the production of peroxides and free radicals that damage all components of the cell, including proteins, lipids, and DNA.

When I went to see Terry for my Botox the other day, she looked at my face with concern. SHe is used to seeing my skin glowing and fresh and is also used to seeing some baby fat in my cheeks. She aksed if I was under any stress, and I told her no. She then said are you working out way too much? And I thought, hmmm....I run 4 days a week, I workout 3 days a week, so the answer would be yes. SHe then explained to me about Oxidative Stress and how my body is not fighting off the free radicals and it's showing on my face. Aside from dropping so much weight, she was concerned for my health. I was a little upset because I eat foods that fight off free radicals. My diet is 99% plant based. I eat my fruits in the morning and from mid morning until night, I eat my veggies, beans and tofu, so why is my body under stress? SO I did a little research and found an article about exercise and href="http://http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ss02/vitamine.html">Oxidative stress. It says there is evidence suggesting that aerobic or endurance exercise (1 hour or more) causes oxidative stress. Oxidative stress results from damage to tissues caused by free radicals.

SO then I wanted to know how I go about fighting off these free radicals in my body....

To counteract oxidative stress, the body produces an armoury of antioxidants to defend itself. It's the job of antioxidants to neutralise or 'mop up' free radicals that can harm our cells.

Your body's ability to produce antioxidants (its metabolic process) is controlled by your genetic makeup and influenced by your exposure to environmental factors such as diet and smoking.

Changes in our lifestyles, which include more environmental pollution and less quality in our diets, mean that we are exposed to more free radicals than ever before.

How much do I need?
Your body's internal production of antioxidants is not enough to neutralise all the free radicals.

You can help your body to defend itself by increasing your dietary intake of antioxidants.

Examples of food-based antioxidants
Antioxidant supplements
Studies have shown that antioxidants supplements do not replicate the action of antioxidants from food.

More research is needed before, say, Vitamin C supplements can be advised to prevent cancer.
Vitamins: vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene.
Trace elements that are components of antioxidant enzymes such as selenium, copper, zinc, and manganese.
Non-nutrients such as ubiquinone (coenzyme Q) and phenolic compounds such as phytoestrogens, flavonoids, phenolic acids and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which is used as a food preservative.
Foods and antioxidants
Tomatoes
Tomatoes contain a pigment called lycopene that is responsible for their red colour but is also a powerful antioxidant.

Tomatoes in all their forms are a major source of lycopene, including tomato products like canned tomatoes, tomato soup, tomato juice and even ketchup.

Lycopene is also highly concentrated in watermelon.

Citrus fruits
Oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes possess many natural substances that appear to be important in disease protection, such as carotenoids, flavonoids, terpenes, limonoids and coumarins.

Together these phytochemicals act more powerfully than if they were given separately.

It's always better to eat the fruit whole in its natural form, because some of the potency is lost when the juice is extracted.

Tea
Black tea, green tea and oolong teas have antioxidant properties. All three varieties come from the plant Camellia sinenis.

Common brands of black tea do contain antioxidants, but by far the most potent source is green tea (jasmine tea) which contains the antioxidant catechin.

Black tea has only 10 per cent as many antioxidants as green tea.
Oolong tea has 40 per cent as many antioxidants as green tea.
This because some of the catechins are destroyed when green tea is processed (baked and fermented) to make black tea.

Carrots
Beta-carotene is an orange pigment that was isolated from carrots 150 years ago.

It is found concentrated in deep orange and green vegetables (the green chlorophyll covers up the orange pigment).

Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that has been much discussed in connection with lung cancer rates. The evidence is conflicting, with one study showing an increase in risk, but further research is being done to see if it has a protective effect.

Will eating antioxidants really protect me from disease?
Studies have shown that people who eat a diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables are less likely to get diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.

It has not yet been proven that antioxidants alone are responsible for this drop in risk.

For example, the research that has been done on the effect of diet on cancer has been difficult to conduct and interpret.

Even so, there is now a good body of evidence to indicate the protective effect of fruit and vegetables on many common cancers, including those of colon, breast and bladder.


At any rate, I am not going to stop my running and working out. I take a TON of supplements but agree that maybe I need to now add an EXTRA VITAMIN C along with VITAMIN E. I will try these and see what happens in another month. I just get so frustrated because I try to be as healthy as possible and so cautious with everything I put in my body, so I can't undertsnad why my body is reacting like this!

Hope you're having a good day!
PS> Got on the scale....115.2! YAHOO!!!!!

What a glorious Sunday!

I love waking up to see the Sun! Today I taught the first 2010 Winter in-doors Fit Green Goddess Boot Camp. I think it's safe to say: "I kicked some serious asses this morning". Class started at 8:15 and ended at 9:30. I taught a Tabata class. Instead of doing 8 rounds, I did 4 rounds, because the girls have never worked like this with me. They were dripping wet, and kept eyeing the clock! The hour went by fast. Usually I give the girls a water break and they chat for a minute in between exercises, but this morning...NO TALKING, NO SMILING, NO JOKING! They tore up the gym and Lee who was wearing a heart rate monitor, burned 600 calories! YEAH, that's the way I do it! :O)

Marvelous Mario my wonderful husband wants Lamb stew for dinner so off to Whole Foods for some goodies! I also grabbed some ingredients for a new desert I haven't made yet from the Kind Diet Book- Alicia Silverstone. I am excited to always open her book and find another new recipe to try. SO far, EVERYTHING I have tried has been great. PS...I found rainbow swiss chard! SOO PRETTY! WHen I look at the veggies and they are rich in color, I can't wait to get them in my body! I CRAVE dark greens like collard greens, kale, swiss chard....These veggies are amazing for you, but you also need the underground veggies, like BEETS! Imagine how nutritious they are for you? The deep dark red color! YUM! SO I bought a few of them as well without the roots.

So as Dr. Andrew Weil would say.....Eat your greens to stave off age-related illness. A new study found that dietary intake of Vitamin K- from spinach, swiss chard and other greens-helped to strengthen bones and prevent heart disease! WHOO HOO! I am going to live forever! :O)







KOMBUCHA TEA... How many of you have heard of it? Ever drink it? first let me tell you what it is: it's a mixed culture of yeast and bacteria. Fermenting kombucha with sugar and black or green tea produces an acidic and carbonated brew that contains B vitamins, yeasts, bacteria and vinegar. You can buy it or brew it at home. SOme say that KOMBUCHA can remedy a wide range of conditions including diabetes, AIDS, digestove disorders, acne and hypertension. They say it will also detoxify you internally and strengthen the immune system.

BUT! There is LITTLE evidence to support any of these claims! (I TELL MY HUSBAND THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT HE INSISTS ON DRINKING THIS CRAP- WHICH SMELLS AND TASTE GROSS!)To date, no studies researcing the benefits of KOMBUCHA on humans have been published. Case studies showcasing the tea's potential dangers to humans sre more compelling! TOXICITY, liver damage, and metabolic acidosis have been attributed to KOMBUCHA tea consumption. Since KOMBUCHA must be fermented at room temperature for 10 days, it can easily become contaminated during the growth process and has been suspected of causing ANTHRAX and ASPERGILLUS infections in unlucky drinkers.

As Dr. Andrew Weil says, YOU SHOULD AVOID THIS DRINK, especially if you have a compromised immune system, are pregnant or nursing. The risks of this EXPENSIVE DRINK outway the benefits! YIKES!

Well, since I do the food shopping, guess what will NOT be going in my carriage! KOMBUCHA NO MORE!


Here is a GREAT recipe  to try this week!

PASTA WITH GREENS:

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 lb brown rice pasta 

1 lb greens (kale, collard or swiss chard)

2 tbso EVOO

1 large onion chopped thin

red pepper flakes 

2-4 cloves garlic minced

1 tbsp Dried basil

2 tbsp capers

Directions:

Soak the Sun-dried tomatoes in hot water (10 minutes), drain and chop.

Begin cooking pasta and then prepare the greens: wash and drain, add onion and red pepper flakes- saute over medium heat. When onions begin to color, add tomatoes and chopped greens, tossing well to wilt. Mash in garlic, add basil and cook for 5 minutes. Add capers with a bit of their liquid. Drain pasta and mix with  veggies. Grate parmesan cheese on top, if you like. :O)

  

My FIT Green Goddess Recipe of the week! You have to try this shake, especially after a workout, tennis, squash, or a session with yours truly- ME!

TINA'S FIT GREEN GODDESS SHAKE
1 Scoop RXODUS Protein
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries are my FAV!)
1 handful fresh spinach
8 oz soy milk or Almond milk
1 teaspoon raw organic coconut oil
1 tbsp Maca powder
1 tbsp Chia (I used Ground)
cinnamon (for a tasty treat)
Blend on high for 30 seconds!
INSTANT AMAZING NUTRIENTS INTO YOUR BODY!
* If you can't even fathom using spinach in your shake, use Green Vibrance for extra greens. I use a TON, even though Rxodus has greens in it.

EVERYTHING IS FINE!

So Monday afternoon I get a call from my Dr. who says I need to come in to speak with her regarding my physical blood and urine results...UMMMM, WHAT!?!?! Me? The FITTEST GREEN GODDESS? Am I not squeaky clean inside? Well turns out, I am not. She says I have too much protein in my urine. "I don't even eat meat or anything like that", I say to her. She says it's not THAT kind of protein, just come in and I will explain. So now, I get all upset thinking I have kidney disease and I start thinking all these crazy thoughts. The INVESTIGATOR I am, I start GOOGLE-ing "Protein in Urine"...and all of these things pop up... One of the sites said dehydration, over training (that wouldn't be me, would it?) :O) ummm, kidney disease, and so the list goes on.....I tell my husband, I get all nervous and he was concerned as well, but always seems to calm me down.

I then start to get PISSES and tell myself, "This is BULL". I am the healthiest person I know! I am getting my ass up at 4:30 am to run on Tuesday morning and getting my 6 miles in.... and NOTHING IS STOPPIN ME! GRRR.... Mario did try to talk me out of getting up and running and thought I should wait for the DR.'s orders, but no way! I know my body! NOTHING is wrong with this chick!

SO low and behold, I got my ass up at 4:30, got to the gym by 5, and running by 5:15! BRING IT!

I did 6 miles and did it perfectly in 1 hour! I felt SO AMAZING!!!!! I was energized the whole day! HA!

Went to see my awesome Dr, and she told me to just pee in a cup, and she assured me, it's nothing serious and she will call me regardless of my results!

So, here is some great info on your KIDNEYS!

Everybody knows that some organs in the human body are necessary for survival: you need your brain, your heart, your lungs, your kidneys...

KIDNEYS? Absolutely. Even though you won't find a Valentine's Day card with a kidney on the cover, the kidneys are every bit as important as the heart. You need at least one kidney to live!

Kidneys normally come in pairs. If you've ever seen a kidney bean, then you have a pretty good idea what the kidneys look like. Each kidney is about 5 inches (about 13 centimeters) long and about 3 inches (about 8 centimeters) wide — about the size of a computer mouse.

To locate your kidneys, put your hands on your hips, then slide your hands up until you can feel your ribs. Now if you put your thumbs on your back, you will know where your kidneys are. You can't feel them, but they are there. Read on to find out more about the cool kidneys.

Cleaning Up
One of the main jobs of the kidneys is to filter the waste out of the blood. How does the waste get in your blood? Well, your blood delivers nutrients to your body. Chemical reactions occur in the cells of your body to break down the nutrients. Some of the waste is the result of these chemical reactions. Some is just stuff your body doesn't need because it already has enough. The waste has to go somewhere; this is where the kidneys come in.

First, blood is carried into the kidneys by the renal artery (anything in the body related to the kidneys is called "renal"). The average person has 1 to 1½ gallons of blood circulating through his or her body. The kidneys filter that blood as many as 400 times a day! More than 1 million tiny filters inside the kidneys remove the waste. These filters, called nephrons (say: neh-fronz), are so small you can see them only with a high-powered microscope.

The Path of Pee
The waste that is collected combines with water (which is also filtered out of the kidneys) to make urine (pee). As each kidney makes urine, the urine slides down a long tube called the ureter (say: yu-ree-ter) and collects in the bladder, a storage sac that holds the urine. When the bladder is about halfway full, your body tells you to go to the bathroom. When you pee, the urine goes from the bladder down another tube called the urethra (say: yu-ree-thruh) and out of your body.

The kidneys, the bladder, and their tubes are called the urinary system. Here's a list of all of the parts of the urinary system:

the kidneys: filters that take the waste out of the blood and make urine
the ureters: tubes that carry the urine to the bladder
the bladder: a bag that collects the urine
the urethra: a tube that carries the urine out of the body
Keeping a Balance
The kidneys also balance the volume of fluids and minerals in the body. This balance in the body is called homeostasis (say: hoh-mee-oh-stay-sus).

If you put all of the water that you take in on one side of a scale and all of the water your body gets rid of on the other side of a scale, the sides of the scale would balance. Your body gets water when you drink it or other liquids. You also get water from some foods, like fruits and vegetables.

Water leaves your body in several ways. It comes out of your skin when you sweat, out of your mouth when you breathe, and out of your urethra in urine when you go to the bathroom. There is also water in your bowel movements (poop).

When you feel thirsty, your brain is telling you to get more fluids to keep your body as balanced as possible. If you don't have enough fluids in your body, the brain communicates with the kidneys by sending out a hormone that tells the kidneys to hold on to some fluids. When you drink more, this hormone level goes down, and the kidneys will let go of more fluids.

You might notice that sometimes your urine is darker in color than other times. Remember, urine is made up of water plus the waste that is filtered out of the blood. If you don't take in a lot of fluids or if you're exercising and sweating a lot, your urine has less water in it and it appears darker. If you're drinking lots of fluids, the extra fluid comes out in your urine, and it will be lighter.

What Else Do Kidneys Do?
Kidneys are always busy. Besides filtering the blood and balancing fluids every second during the day, the kidneys constantly react to hormones that the brain sends them. Kidneys even make some of their own hormones. For example, the kidneys produce a hormone that tells the body to make red blood cells.

Now you know what the kidneys do and how important they are. Maybe next Valentine's Day, instead of the same old heart, you can give someone you love a special card featuring the kidneys!

osteoporosis in 3-D

Osteoporosis is a disease, more common in women, that causes bones to become fragile and more susceptible to breaking. It is a real condition with serious effects on women's health and quality of life. Some women -- most commonly those who don’t have good access to health care -- experience fractures that could have been prevented if their osteoporosis had been treated. At the same time, not every woman who is warned about bone thinning needs to be worried. Companies that make drugs for osteoporosis have conducted advertising campaigns for women and health care providers that have created fear and led many women who don’t need the drugs to take them, despite serious side effects and risks.

In recent years, many new osteoporosis drugs have become available, creating a dilemma for women trying to decide which, if any, of these medications they need. Specifically, women want to know when it is appropriate to take a drug for osteoporosis, and which treatments are safest and most effective. The National Women's Health Network believes that the focus of efforts to promote bone health should be on preventing fractures rather than preventing loss of bone mineral density in women who are otherwise at low risk of experiencing a fracture. As you’ll read below, drugs are not always the best approach.



What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis literally means porous bone. Throughout life, there are constant changes in the structure of bones. A natural process breaks down bones and builds them back up again at the microscopic level. Children and young adults build more bone than they break down. Pregnant women release bone to transfer needed minerals to the developing fetus and then build their own bone strength up again after giving birth. After age 35-40 all adults begin to lose bone as the breaking down process overwhelms the building process. For a few years around the time of menopause, women lose bone more quickly, possibly because they no longer need extra stores of minerals to support a developing fetus.

Osteoporosis occurs when the natural process of aging goes too far and bones become weak and fragile. Osteoporosis has several causes – age alone can be a cause of osteoporosis, especially in people who didn’t build up their bones to their fullest potential during childhood and young adulthood. Medicine can cause osteoporosis – taking high doses of steroids over a period of months can cause significant bone loss, for example. Removing women’s ovaries increases their risk of getting osteoporosis. Inactivity can cause osteoporosis, too – astronauts and people who are not able to walk briskly are more likely to develop fragile bones.

People who have osteoporosis are at greater risk for fracturing their bones, especially in the hip, vertebrae (spine) and wrist. Hip fractures lead to hospitalization, can take a long time to heal, and many women never fully recover from them. Individual vertebral fractures can be completely painless and cause no problems at all, but if multiple fractures develop in the spine it can be very painful and restrict women’s ability to move without serious discomfort.


Alternatives

Alternatives to drugs exist for making and keeping bones strong. The National Institutes of Health’s 2000 Consensus Statement on Osteoporosis reviewed the research on osteoporosis prevention and treatment and found strong scientific evidence that calcium and Vitamin D intake are crucial to develop and preserve strong bones.

Regular exercise (especially resistance and high-impact activities) contributes to the development of bone mass. Other promising interventions focus on preventing fractures: balance training reduces the risk of falling, which is often responsible for broken bones in older people. A few small studies have shown that hip protectors provided along with training on how to use them can help reduce the risk of fracture if a fall occurs. Large randomized trials didn't find any benefit, though. Other practical ways to reduce the risk of falling include making sure that vision prescriptions are up-to-date, checking prescriptions for drug interactions that might cause dizziness, eliminating fall-causing hazards in the home (like slippery rugs), and wearing appropriate shoes.

The Bottom Line

Drug companies are clearly trying to expand the market for osteoporosis drugs; their latest efforts target “non-traditional” populations (like younger women and men) for screening. Many women under age 65 without critical risk factors are being screened for osteopenia and osteoporosis, despite the fact that early screening has not been shown to prevent most serious fractures. The NWHN encourages women under age 65 to reject bone density screening unless they have unusual circumstances that increase their risk.

In addition to thinking carefully about their own risk of experiencing a serious fracture, women need to consider safety issues when deciding whether to take osteoporosis drugs. Also, the treatment’s duration is critical in determining its effectiveness: when a woman stops taking certain osteoporosis prevention drugs, the preventive effects are quickly lost. Don't hesitate to ask your health care provider about the safety and efficacy of any osteoporosis medication and whether non-drug alternatives might be just as effective, based on your personal history and current health status.

Well, I hope this Blog today was an eye opener to some of you if not all of you out there! We NEED to take care of ourselves FROM THE INSIDE OUT!

XOXOO Always looking out for you!