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Bone Health: How To Maintain Strong Bones At Any Age

Bone Health: How To Maintain Strong Bones At Any Age [RELATED: Learn more about the Nutrilite™ Bone Health Pack .] We all want to stay healthy as long as we can — and part of that means keeping our bones as strong as possible. But our bone structure changes over time due to lifestyle and age. So it’s important to know how to build and maintain strength for the long run! Tips for every stage of life Whatever your age, there are a few simple steps you can take to maintain strong bones. Your 20s This is the time to build a strong base through proper nutrition and daily exercise! What to do: Avoid soda, excessive dieting, and extreme exercise. Your 30s For women, pregnancy and breastfeeding sap calcium from the body. What to do: Talk to your doctor to ensure you’re getting adequate calcium to compensate adequately during these times. Your 40s As women approach menopause , bone-building estrogen declines, and the body absorbs less calcium from food. What to do:

Brain health: How to give your brain some TLC Most of us know what to do to try to keep our bodies healthy, like get regular exercise and make smart nutrition choices. But what about our minds? What can we do to support our brain health? As we age, it’s important to care for our brain the same way we do the rest of our body. Let’s take a deeper look at the overall function of the brain and ways you can support your brain health. What does the brain do? As the most complex part of the human body, this three-pound organ is the center of intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement, and controller of behavior. Like an airplane control tower, the brain is designed to receive information from the rest of the body, interpret that information, and guide the body’s response to it. Parts of the brain Your brain is made up of four specialized areas that work together — each serving its own individual role: The frontal lobe controls motor functio

How to get more blue and purple foods in your diet Purple is the color of hipster hair, royalty and majestic mountains. But it’s also a color that more people need to put on their dinner plate. Purple- and blue-hued fruits and vegetables contain a large quantity of antioxidants and key phytonutrients, which support a number of defense and protective mechanisms in our bodies and may make us more resilient to the kinds of stresses we encounter in everyday life. The phytonutrients in blue and purple foods—like quercetin, resveratrol and ellagic acid—give the foods their rich color, but also help support your brain and heart health. Popularity problem Despite their regal color, purple produce has a popularity problem. According to the Global Phytonutrient Report , of the five main colors of fruits and vegetables, blue and purple is the least consumed by people across the world. That means a large number of people are missing out on those phytonutrient benefits. If

People Are Not Eating Enough Blue and Purple Foods When it comes to food, people need more blue and purple in their lives . That’s what the results of the Global Phytonutrient Report indicated. The report presents research commissioned by the Nutrilite Health Institute of Amway and revealed that most adults would need to at least double their current intake of fruits and vegetables to meet the recommended minimum of five servings (or 400 grams) per day. * “The Global Phytonutrient Report also helped to identify phytonutrient gaps that are most prevalent throughout the world,” Amway Principal Research Scientist Steve Missler said. “The blue/purple category was found to be the least consumed globally.” While eating a variety of fruits and vegetables from across the color spectrum is the best way to support health, it’s not always easy to accomplish. Effective dietary supplements can help fill the nutrient gaps. Amway recently launched the next generation of N

Looking for longevity? Consider the ‘Blue Zone’ lifestyle When it comes to living longer, the DNA running through your family tree might not have as much influence as you might think. There is growing evidence that shows the lifestyle choices you make can help determine your lifespan. Researchers have been studying “ Blue Zones ,” a handful of areas around the globe where people live longer, stay healthier longer into their old age and have lower rates of chronic disease. These areas include, Okinawa, Japan; Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula; Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California; and the island of Ikaria in Greece. Common traits In these Blue Zones, there seem to be several diet, exercise and lifestyle patterns that the areas have in common, in addition to having a higher-than-average number of people celebrating their 100 th birthday. From what makes up the bulk of their daily diet to how involved they are in their communities, the core traits of each of the

Social health: Friends and family can make all the difference Good relationships with friends and family do more than just enrich your social life—research shows they are key to a person’s overall health and wellness, specifically their social wellness. A team at Stanford University, led by Dr. Catherine Heaney, an associate professor of psychology and medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, interviewed 100 people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds about “levels of well-being.” While their responses were scattered across several categories, including physical health , spirituality and mental health , Heaney said social connectedness was the dominant topic. Need for social connectedness is universal People talked most about the extent to which they were well-integrated into the social fabric of their community—with their loved ones, their family and friends,” she said in an interview for Stanford’s Be Well program. Heaney said the finding makes s

7 tips for getting a better night’s sleep Go to bed. Toss, turn … zzzz. Wake up … toss, turn … zzzz. Wake up … toss, turn … zzzz. Sound familiar? You’re not getting enough sleep , and that’s not healthy. Plus, it can make you really cranky (Get your own coffee!). Here are a few tips to help you get more sleep. Keep it quiet Snoring sleep partners? Noisy traffic? Loud neighbors or roommates? Consider a white noise machine or a loud fan to drown out the racket and whir you to sleep. You could also investigate soundproof curtains to keep the outside noise outside and carpeting to muffle noise from below. And rearrange your bedroom to place your bed the farthest away from any noise sources. The lowest cost solutions are earplugs and having a friendly but direct conversation with your neighbors about being considerate. (No, bongo drums at 2 a.m. on a weekday are not OK, even if they did invite you to the party.) Create a sleep sanctuary Keep your bedroom tidy,

Indoor air quality: 3 ways to improve the air you breathe Today, many of us are spending more time at home. Remote work, online school, virtual clubs — more of our lives are happening where we live, surrounded by the people we love. Basements have become gyms. That “extra bedroom” is now a playroom. Large closets are now small offices. These spaces fill a need in our lives, helping us feel safe amid the everchanging landscape. But they can also be home to airborne contamination. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that the air inside our homes can actually be more contaminated by odors, allergens and chemicals than the air outside—as much as 5 times higher. Not something you want in a space where your family’s health and safety should be top priority. Here are some strategies to improve your indoor air. Clean regularly to improve indoor air Allergens and other irritants or contaminants can enter your home every time the door opens. Make sure

Allergy attack? Try adding an air purifier to your home When it comes to fighting allergies, controlling the source of the contaminants is a great way to reduce exposure to allergens. We already shared several tips for doing that, including frequent vacuuming with a HEPA filter, washing bedding in hot water and taking measures to reduce the chance for allergens to enter your rooms. Room air treatment systems Another strategy is to clean the air in your room with an air treatment system. Research shows that the air inside your home can be more polluted than the air outdoors – up to five times more. In addition to allergens like pollen, fungi and mold, indoor air can contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde. While pollutants in outside air naturally dissipate into the atmosphere, indoor air pollution stays put for much longer, especially in newer homes that are tightly sealed for energy efficiency. Take control over your air “Clean air shou

When it comes to allergies, prevention is the best medicine Are you congested all the time? Do you cough and sneeze as much as you blink and breathe? Are your eyes so watery people continually ask you if you are OK? Congratulations! You are one of the countless people across the world who suffer from allergies – and we do mean suffer. At least with a cold, there is an end in sight. The virus or bacteria will run its course and you can return to the land of the living. With allergies, depending on your environment, you may feel like you’ve become a real-life version of the “Walking Dead.” But you don’t have to walk around in a hazmat suit to survive allergies. Here are a few less drastic measures you can take to protect yourself from the common allergy triggers like dust, mold, pollen and pet dander. Protect your mattress Use dust mite protection covers on your mattress, box spring and pillows. Even though you can’t see dust mites, they do trigger allergies a

Sleep deprivation: How it affects your mind and body How did you sleep last night? When you wake up after a good night’s sleep, you may feel like you can take on the world. But trying to open your eyes after tossing and turning all night or waking up every hour on the hour may feel like the most you can accomplish all day. Sleep deprivation can do more than simply make you sluggish the next day. If it happens frequently, it can take a toll on your mind and your body, and for some it can be a serious concern. What causes sleep deprivation? Sleep deprivation comes for most of us at one time or another. It could be a new baby keeping parents up each night, a work project that has you burning the midnight oil, or the stresses of the day preventing you from falling asleep. Whatever form it takes, sleep deprivation is characterized by a consistent lack of sleep, which means getting fewer than seven hours of shut eye a night on a regular basis. Some people who fee

Lack of sleep is a recipe for overeating If you find yourself struggling in your efforts to lose weight despite a healthy diet, portion control and regular exercise, you might want to examine your sleeping habits. Research shows a link between sleep and weight loss because sleep affects the hormones that influence our eating behaviors. Ghrelin and leptin Let’s take a look at two hormones: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is an appetite-decreasing hormone. It sends signals to the brain that your body has enough stored energy (in the form of fat) to maintain normal function. It’s responsible for giving you that “full” feeling when eating and sends that signal to your brain. Ghrelin is an appetite-increasing hormone. It signals the brain when you’re hungry. When you have high levels of ghrelin, research suggests that your desire for high-calorie foods increases. It may also influence your eating behavior by increasing stimulation of the brain’s reward system—meaning e

Quick tips for decreasing mental stress Are you exhausted but still have difficulty falling asleep? Are life’s daily annoyances becoming huge obstacles? Are you having trouble concentrating and seeing things through? Under normal circumstances, you might answer no to all those questions. But these are not normal circumstances and the stresses you might be experiencing are likely not normal, either. Sometimes everyday stresses can be handled with a strong cup of coffee. But if that doesn’t help, and they are persistent and recurring, don’t ignore them. Your mental health is one of several factors that comprise your overall wellness. The others are dietary, physical, emotional, social, spiritual, financial and environmental health – and they all need to be maintained. “Mental health is your ability to properly think about and process information,” said Dr. Keith Randolph, a fellow with Amway Global Discovery. “It affects how you interact with others, make deci

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Health and Fitness Tips

Posts

Energize your Fitness and Support your Nutrition

Bone Health: How To Maintain Strong Bones At Any Age

How to give your brain better health

You need more blue and purple foods in your diet

People Are Not Eating Enough Blue and Purple Foods

Looking for longevity? Consider the ‘Blue Zone’ lifestyle

Social health: Friends and family can make all the difference

7 tips for getting a better night’s sleep

3 ways to improve the air you breathe in your home

Allergy attack? Try adding an air purifier to your home

Prevention is the best medicine to allergies

Sleep deprivation: How it affects your mind and body

Lack of sleep is a recipe for overeating

Need tips to decrease your mental stress?