Caffeine Effects In Coffee

Everybody loves a good cup of coffee.

But while you probably know that too much caffeine is too much of a good thing, do you think about WHEN you drink your coffee as influencing your health?

Caffeine has a half-life of six hours which means that half the caffeine you ingested will be left six hours later.

If you go to bed at 10:30pm, this should put your last cup of coffee at 10:30am. Drinking coffee later than that increases the difficulty of falling asleep or degrading the quality of sleep if you do.

The Beginner's Guide to Intermittent Fasting

Want to take a deeper dive into intermittent fasting?

Check out this article by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com

Balancing Fatty Acids

Omega-3, Omega-6, fatty acids, fish oil… what does all this mean?

Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids need to have a balanced ratio in our body. Ideally, it is good to have a ratio of 4:1 or less of Omega-6 to Omega-3 acids, but recent studies show that 95% of foods consumed in the U.S. are processed, driving this ratio up to 20:1 or even 50:1 in some people.

The average American has 24 times too much inflammation and this is why NSAID's (Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc.) are the #1 over the counter medications and the rate of chronic inflammatory diseases is at an all-time high.

Keeping a balanced ratio helps reduce inflammation, and inflammation can lead to a variety of conditions ranging from mild back pain to heart disease and cancer. Eat more green vegetables, grass-fed meats, cage-free farm fresh eggs, wild game, fresh fish, flaxseeds, chia and hemp seeds. Avoid processed foods that have high amounts of Omega-6’s including grain, flour, corn, seeds, seed oils, grain fed meat and eggs, and farmed fish.

In addition to healthy eating, supplementing your diet with high-quality fish oil is very beneficial, and using a quality supplement is important in order to avoid high levels of mercury.

Breakfast and Intermittent Fasting

"The most important meal of the day is breakfast"...except when you're using intermittent fasting as an eating strategy.

The most common protocol for IF is 16 hours of fasting followed by an 8-hour window of eating, and many people find that skipping breakfast is the easiest way to achieve this schedule.

Contrary to what you may think, many people report having more energy, a clearer head, and more motivation without having a morning meal.

Diet Drinks Are A Scam

Diet drinks are a scam. Artificial sweeteners aren’t metabolized properly in your body and can wreak havoc internally.

“Previous research has shown a link between diet beverages and stroke, dementia, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes.”

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/diet-soda

Nutrition Labels On Vitamin Drinks

While enhancing food and drink with extra vitamins seems like it would be to your advantage, it often comes at a cost. For example, one of the biggest problems with a vitamin-enriched drink is that it typically contains a lot of sugar to improve the taste. The nutrition label of Vitamin Water by Glaceau, heavily advertised as a healthy beverage, shows that the drink contains 13 grams of sugar per serving, but there are 2.5 servings in each 20 oz. bottle. That means there are a whopping 32.5 grams, which is nearly seven teaspoons of sugar in each bottle of Vitamin Water—nearly as much as a 12 oz. can of soda.

The ingredients list is another clue that Vitamin Water is an unhealthy beverage. Listed from greatest to least amount, Vitamin Water’s first and second ingredients are water and crystalline fructose (sugar). There are more water and sugar in this beverage than any other ingredient—including vitamins.

When reading nutrition labels, basically anything that ends in the letters '–ose' is going to be a sugar, including fructose, sucrose and glucose. With the average American consuming between 160 and 200 lbs. of sugar a year, increased sugar consumption is currently a major health issue in the United States. In excess, sugar is poison to the body and creates unwanted stress that can lead to health problems ranging from depression to diabetes to obesity.

Is Vitamin Water just sugar water in a pretty package? In my opinion, yes. Save your money by drinking purified tap water, examining your diet and improving where you can, and using quality supplements when necessary.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between eating and fasting -- NOT focusing on calorie counting. Research has shown it can increase rate of fat burn and benefit heart health.

Here is a sample schedule of what I typically follow for intermittent fasting.

(If you have any concerns check with your primary care physician. This is not recommended for

pregnant or breastfeeding women.)

#intermittentfasting #febnewmonthsresolution

Magnesium Deficiency

The number one nutrient deficiency I see is magnesium. Magnesium is one of the most prevalent elements in the human body and is involved in over 300 metabolic reactions. It's also the first thing to be depleted when someone is stressed out.

Signs you are deficient:
Anxiety
Headaches
Constipation
Muscle spasms
Poor sleep

The average person should be getting around 1000 mg of magnesium per day. If someone is eating pretty healthy they could easily get around 600 mg from their food, so it is suggested they supplement with 400 mg of magnesium on top of that. However, most people are not eating healthy so they can require more than 400 mg per day.

The more stressed out you are the more magnesium you should take.
The quality of the supplement makes all the difference. Cheap supplements will have fillers, less magnesium than is listed on the label and it will be less pure than higher quality products. You pay for what you get in the supplement industry.

I suggest a combination of magnesium from amino acids chelate, malate and citrate. We carry Anabolic Labs Clinical Magnesium that has this exact combination.

The only side effect of taking too much is loose stools, and if someone is depleted it's suggested that they take enough to hit this point and back it off slightly.