Dr. Neal Bringe on Opportunities To Provide Wellness And Vitality

Modern lifestyles and poor diets are linked to an overweight population with chronic inflammation and a lack of wellness and vitality...

It can be beneficial to replace some of the sugar and fat of processed foods with lower calorie sources of functionality (e.g., non-caloric sweetener, fiber). However, this approach may encourage a habit of regular indulgence of foods that may be better reserved for limited occasions (e.g., grilled/fried  meat, processed cheese, cakes, cookies, chips, and crackers). Reduced-calorie versions of some foods may still contain significant levels of pro-inflammatory compounds (e.g., bacterial endotoxins, heterocyclic amines, acrylamide) and lack gut-protective nutrients relative to fresh vegetables and berries. Studies of healthful populations and experiences of people who maintain healthy weights and wellness support a diet of fresh, minimally processed, mostly plant-based whole foods (fruits, berries, vegetables, legumes, nuts, grains, spices, and herbs). Thus, there is an opportunity to make these foods more convenient and delicious.

Continue Reading

Jack La Lanne

"Exercise is king, diet is queen.

Put them together and you've got a kingdom."

Jack LaLanne, at age 93 is still working out

two hours a day, mostly in the pool now.

"You have to exercise, not necessarily to the extent that I have.

Twenty to 30 minutes three or four times a week is fine

when combined with a sensible diet.

But work at it vigorously."

Energetic, spry and given to spontaneous outbursts of song, he loves joking around and greets others warmly.

Jack LaLanne, said he almost killed his brother twice, "I was 15 at the time. I was addicted to sugar. I ate junk food constantly and felt horrible. I suffered from blinding headaches. I was skinny, weak and had a nasty temper. I was so sickly that, under doctor's order's, I hadn't been to school in six months. Then my mom practically dragged me to a lecture on health. That lecture saved my life. Paul Bragg told me that if I would exercise and eat a proper diet, I could regain my health." The strict vegetarian diet Paul Bragg suggested helped Jack feel better. Jack's diet is still mostly vegan, except egg whites and occasionally fish. He has long advocated drinking juices extracted from raw fruit and vegetables.

In 1955, at 41, LaLanne swam handcuffed from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

In 1956, at 42, he set the world record of 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes on You Asked for It, a TV show.

In 1959, at 45, LaLanne did 1,000 pushups and 1,000 chin-ups in one hour and 22 minutes.

In 1974, at 60, Jack swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf for a second time, handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

In 1976, at 62, commemorating the "Spirit of '76," he swam 1 mile in Long Beach Harbor, handcuffed, shackled and towing 13 boats containing 76 people.

In 1979, at 65, LaLanne towed 65 boats filled with 6,500 pounds of wood pulp while handcuffed and shackled in Lake Ashino, near Tokyo.

In 1984, at 70, handcuffed and shackled, LaLanne towed 70 boats with 70 people 1.5 miles from the Queensway Bridge to the Queen Mary.

~by Esther Seppi, see Jan. 2008 Costco Connection