Putting yourself first!

I can feel you squirm at the very idea. Women especially find it extremely difficult to put themselves first, believing it is selfish or egotistical. For many women, we are at the bottom of the pile of children, partner, work, family and every other commitment or responsibility. But, when you fly and the flight attendant is doing the safety briefing they are very clear that in the event of loss of cabin pressure and the deployment of oxygen masks, to ALWAYS put your mask on first BEFORE helping anyone else. This is because if you help someone else first, you are unlikely to have the strength to help yourself  – and then you are not helpful for anyone!

The same should be true for the rest of your life. If you fill yourself up first you have the strength, energy and will power to do whatever you want in your life, including helping and supporting others. If helping others comes from a want that comes from your heart, rather than a should, or a must do from your mind, it’s helping to fill you up. Make sure you have plenty of  ‘me time’ everyday to stay fit and healthy and able to help others – and don’t be afraid of receiving help in return, or saying NO if something is overwhelming or doesn’t feel right to you.

Everything starts with you. Love yourself from within so you can radiate it out to everyone you meet and through everything you do.  By loving yourself first, you shine more brightly and are able to give so much more to others.

Getting away from your desk and giving yourself a break for just a few minutes might help you increase productivity and creativity. Small things like coming in from work or the school run and sitting down with a cup of tea before starting the supper, chores,  or homework can be considered as me-time. Those instances that help you recharge. It’s not only giving yourself a break, but other family members as well. When you are out in nature, pause and soak up your surroundings and feel replenished by the elements. Or go the whole way and take some hours or even days to yourself to recharge.

Remember, put your oxygen mask on first. Don’t feel guilty about it – it’s merely what you need to do to be the best version of you for yourself and the others in your life!

Health needs a call to action. Everywhere you look lately, the subject of health is at the forefront. People are confused with all the conflicting information out there about what is healthy and unhealthy for them.

When it comes to health, we all want to know more. What new diets are out there, which exercise trends are getting results, who should we listen to? What many of us don’t realize is that one size does not fit all! We are all different and have different needs. The needs of one family member will be different to those of another. What works for your friends may not work for you. This is why we need truly personalized health.

ph360 provides exactly that – health advice tailored to each individual’s specific needs. And the revolutionary new Shae™ makes it a breeze to put this advice into practice. It is the creation of an international collaboration of medical and health specialists, researchers, scientists, computer programmers and designers all committed to improving the health of the human race.

The orchestrator of ph360, Matt Riemann, has a vision – to eliminate chronic pain and disease from the world by providing predictive, preventative and personalized health advice to the global population. He believes this will be possible within the next few generations.

The ph360 program helps individuals regain and maintain balance in their bodies so pain and sickness are rare or non-existent. It provides people with the best ways to keep motivated and engaged in their health. And, if they are already healthy, the program takes the guesswork out of staying that way so they can concentrate on the things that they really care about. One unique person at a time, we can create a world free of chronic pain and disease.

Yes, Personalized Health is here. It exists in real time, now. It is tailored specifically to each individual. No two programs are the same.

ph360 is an abbreviation of Personalized Health from 360 degrees. It delivers a 360-degree approach to achieving a healthy body and a happy life. It provides a complete view of an individual’s physical and mental health, as well as actions and relevant recommendations for their social interactions, daily diet, exercise, environment, career, and mind.

Many following the program have experienced increased energy, improved concentration and productivity, reduced feelings of stress and greater vitality. It is a complete lifestyle tool that can help to change the way an individual thinks, eats, exercises, lives, and enjoys life. And the new Shae^™ will make it effortless to put it all into practice.

With personalized health, each and every one of us has the potential to influence the lives of millions, and in the future, impact the lives of billions. We can achieve a world free of chronic pain and disease.

Staying healthy can be challenging; there is so much conflicting information regarding nutrition. Some health experts recommend not eating animal products and say that grains are okay while others suggest not eating any grains and herald meat and vegetables as the key components of an ideal diet. The recommendations are not consistent which often makes eating for health a guessing game.

Your body can tell you what it needs.

Over recent decades more information has come to light in the Western world to help eliminate the need to guess what is or is not right for you. We now know that different body shapes and sizes process foods differently. The science of biotypology, similar to the Ayurvedic concept of body types, presents a way for us to know what diet works best for the specific kind of body and digestion that we have.

The diet that is best for a tall, lean person with small bones is not the same diet that is healthy for a shorter, large-boned person. For example, Sandra Bullock and Jack Black have different body styles and their bodies actually absorb food differently. Additionally, the tall, lean person will have different motivations for eating than the large-boned person. One person may want to avoid stomach pain while the other wants to lose weight or gain more muscle. Working with your personal neurochemistry and motivation is the first step in dietary success.

So which diet is best for you?

The Low Fat, Low Carb, Paleo, and Mediterranean diets all claim that they are good for you, yet they are very different in what they recommend. Despite following these eating regimens regularly, Americans are less healthy than they’ve been, with statistics showing a continuing rise in heart disease and diabetes. Why are these diets not improving health? By and large, it’s because we are not eating according to our specific needs.

You can reach your optimal health – and weight – faster if you eat the foods that support your specific body type and needs. So let’s look at four popular diets and see who is likely to benefit the most from each one.

1. Low Carb Diet: This diet asks people to avoid carbohydrates and sugars. In this diet, one would avoid or limit grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans, lentils, peas), and simple carbohydrates found in many processed foods. Restricting this many food items is definitely not the best option for every body type.

Try if:  If you are a mesomorph (medium-boned, muscular body type) and want a diet that helps you lose weight and allows you to enjoy the types of foods featured in low-carb diets this diet might work well for your body. If you are an endomorph (larger-boned body type with higher levels of body fat) this diet will suit your body’s needs well.

Skip if: If you have an ectomorph body type (small-boned with lower levels of muscle and body fat), you most likely stand to benefit from grains and high-calorie foods.

2. Low Fat Diet: This diet reduces overall intake of fats and is good for those who may need to control their cholesterol or who may have too much body fat.

Try if: If you have a mesomorph or endomorph body type, you are likely to benefit from eating lots of fresh foods, lean meats and a moderate amount of oils and other fat. If you have an endomorph body type, you may especially benefit from consuming limited amounts of fat.

Skip if: If you have an ectomorph body type, you may need high-calorie foods, especially if you tend to have a challenge with gaining weight. In this case, a low-fat diet wouldn’t support your needs very well.

3. Paleo: This diet is focused on only eating foods that one could hunt or gather naturally from the earth without farming. The diet restricts grains, is high in animal protein, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, and is lower in fruit.

Try if: If you have a mesomorph body type, this is a great diet for you, especially if you focus on eating white meats. You have a strong digestive system when healthy and can break down animal proteins well. If you have the body type of an endomorph, you will do well on the Paleo Diet as well, as long as you eat more vegetables than meats.

Skip if: Paleo is not the best option for you if you have an ectomorph body type because you will do well with some grains and dairy in your diet.

4. Mediterranean: The traditional eating plan in Mediterranean countries is characterized by moderate consumption of protein, high consumption of vegetables, and lots of olive oil for fats instead of butter which is high in saturated fat.

Try if: You will benefit the most from this diet if you have an endomorph body type. You need large amounts of vegetables and not as much animal protein as others. You also do far better than other types with plant-based proteins.

Skip if: If you have a mesomorph body type and are an athlete or you work your body hard, this diet won’t necessarily provide all of the nutrients your body needs to keep up the demand on your muscles.

It’s not that these eating plans can’t lead people to be healthy. It’s just that some are great for some people and not great for other people. It is valuable to become aware of what works for us as individuals, to drop the generalized rules and advice we hear from magazines, practitioners and loved ones alike, and to discover what fits our bodies’ natural needs, wants, and motivations.

If you can accurately determine your body type, then you can have a better general sense of what is right for you to achieve your ideal health. And although this is a great way to begin to fine-tune your eating, it is just one important part that determines what types of foods and eating habits are best for you. To know exactly what’s right for you, try out the new technology ph360.me which accurately calculates your dietary and lifestyle requirements based on your body type and many other important facets of who you are.

The benefits to our health that we can anticipate when we eat according to our body’s natural preferences are immense. We hope you enjoy yours!

Scientists and medical experts have long claimed that exercise reduces cancer risk – not only of contracting it in the first place, but reducing the risk of recurrence after successful treatment. Until now, they couldn’t explain exactly how.

A team of researchers in Denmark, led by Pernille Hojman at Copenhagen University Hospital, have reported in Cell Metabolism that adrenalin is what makes the difference. This result is quite astounding with their experiments showing that exercised mice that had cancer established in their system had tumor growth rates 58% to 61% smaller than in the unexercised mice.

From this, the team deduced that it may have been the adrenaline (epinephrin) that made the difference. To test their theory, they injected one group of cancer-induced mice with adrenaline and another group with saline and found that tumor growth was 61% smaller in adrenalin injected mice. Even more impressive was the fact that the exercised control mice in this group saw a decrease in tumor size of 74%.

While this was very promising, it was evident that something else was involved – Interleukin-6. This also spikes during exercise and has been found to help fight tumors. When combined with epinephren, tumor size was reduced to the same degree found in exercised mice.

So if we want to avoid cancer the answer seems obvious – get out there and exercise. But pushing your body past breaking point on a treadmill may not be the best way for you to do that. Some of us love high intensity cardio, others thrive on yoga. You may love lifting weights, but swimming could be what’s best for your friend. We are all different and our bodies have different needs. Luckily, programs like ph360 or the revolutionary new Shae take the guesswork out of your workout. Figure out what works best for you and you can use exercise to reduce your risk of cancer.

Sourced from The Economist

“You may not know this yet, but you have the ability to reinvent yourself, endlessly. That’s your beauty”

–  Anne Lamott

I’m tall, I’m fat, I’m British, I’m quiet, I’m opinionated, I’m a teacher, I’m not good at sport, I’m not very smart. These are the kind of statements that we use to define who we are. That frame our sense of identity.

It’s important to have a sense of identity and feel comfortable with who you are. No one likes to wander through life uncertain of themselves and their path. But it’s also important to be open to new things. To not let statements like these limit you in what you do with your life.

I have a friend who is very intelligent and accomplished. At elementary school, around age 10-12, her class did one of those aptitude tests. One of those things which asks you a bunch of seemingly random questions and then spits out recommendations on which areas of study you have a natural predisposition towards. My friend was told that she does not have an aptitude for languages – she will never be very good at learning them so she shouldn’t bother trying.

This silly test has stayed with her well into adulthood. She didn’t study any languages through the rest of her schooling and slowly ‘I’m not good at learning other languages’ became a part of her identity. Interestingly, on a recent group trip to Japan, she was picking up phrases and words left, right and center and learning more of the language than most of the rest of us. She’s coming around to the idea that aptitude tests are a bunch of baloney.

Now, of course, there are indisputable things about each of us that can’t be changed. If you were born in the UK, you’re British – nothing to be done about that. If you’re 6 ft tall and a lady, you’re a tall woman – no magic potion for height. If you work at a school imparting knowledge unto the youth of today, you’re probably a teacher – it is what it is. These things are reality, and may be part of who you are, but they don’t have to define who you are, and they certainly don’t have to limit you.

You might be British, but that doesn’t mean you can’t move to Italy, Singapore or Australia and live there instead. You might be a tall woman, but that shouldn’t stop you from wearing heels if that’s what you want to do. You might be a teacher, but if the sound of screaming children and the smell of craft glue is driving you nuts who says that you can’t change careers?

We have very little control over what goes on in the world around us, but we have absolute control over our own actions and decisions. If there is something you don’t like about your life, change it. If there is something that you don’t like about who you are, change it! Yes, change can be confronting and scary, but it can also be exciting and invigorating.

You have the power to reinvent yourself whenever you want to. Why not embrace it?

I cannot count how many people have told me that they plan on starting ph360 as soon as the new year comes.  My answer to them is simply, “Why wait to start taking care of yourself?”

The holidays can be a tough time for everyone when it comes to maintaining good healthy habits.  There’s the stress of shopping, holiday parties, incredible feasts planned, Starbucks’ Gingerbread Latte, more holiday parties, etc.  With so many temptations and so little time, it can seem impossible to find a balance.

With ph360, maintaining or reaching your healthy goals is possible! We need to remember that even though a particular food or treat is listed as a food to avoid, it may help us emotionally on occasion.  Here are some tips that I have used to get through the holidays:

Plan your treats: Decide what you cannot live without.  Do you really need that latte?  Is is the peppermint bark that makes you feel in the mood for the holidays?  Whatever it may be, pick only what you cannot do without (and you can’t pick everything!).  I sit down and do this on a FULL stomach before I go to the party, or shopping, or to that dinner. Once you are at your event, allow yourself this one treat, and then stick to your food plan for the rest of the day and party.  I also limit my treat days to one day a week this time of year (I am in maintenance mode but I am still pretty strict). I have friends that allow 2 days through this time of year.

Pack healthy snacks: I keep almonds and fruit with me at all times.  When I feel like pigging out, I just tell myself to eat fruit  or nuts first.  It does the trick every time.  I am never hungry enough at that point to eat food that is not good for my health.

Eat a big bowl of steamed veggies before you go out to dinner or to a party. Enough said.

Exercise in the morning: You will be less likely to make unhealthy choices if you start your day off right!

Celebrate your achievements: I am less likely to eat unhealthy food when I feel good about my accomplishments.  I remind myself how far I have come. If I am having a bad or stressful day, taking the time to remind myself of how well I have done actually keeps me on track.

Keep your goal in mind: Just think, if you start before the holidays, you will be shopping for new clothes in the new year instead of just getting started!

If you’re traveling with your family or on your own this holiday season, you may struggle to keep your immune system up to snuff. Especially during the colder seasons, immune function can be suppressed. Moreover, if you’re traveling you’ll be exposed to a whole lot of germs your body isn’t used to. But there are ways to stay healthy during the holiday season, even when you’re traveling.

While you might expect the typical list of germ-busting techniques, the ph360 approach is a bit different. Because the real way to keep yourself healthy is by nourishing yourself as your immune system uniquely needs to be nourished.

Just like any other arena of your health, what works best to keep your immune system active should be targeted for your unique needs. There is no one size fits all for immune strength. The strongest immune response will be a result of preventive health care measures taken over time—customized to your specific physical and genetic demands.

Here’s how:

Exercise the right way. Help your body by doing the exercise that is right for you—not straining or under-exerting yourself in the most popular new workout trend. How to know what’s right for you? Enlist the support of a personal trainer, or simply pay attention to how your musculature and joints feel after different kinds of exercise. If you ever experience pain or inflammation in your joints, you may be exercising in a way that’s taxing your body unnecessarily.

Eat the best foods for your body. The food you eat should energize and fuel you, rather than cause weight gain, brain fog, and a weakened immune system. Whole, unprocessed foods tend to support immune function, though different foods will be better for different people depending on metabolic and hormonal needs. Consult your ph360 FOOD dashboard for guidance, or work with a nutritionist.

Get enough sleep! Prioritize sleep whenever possible, particularly before and during travel. Enlist the help of sleep aids when you need—ear plugs, eye mask, or white noise may all be useful when trying to get sleep in unfamiliar environments.

Have fun. Studies show that laughing and enjoying time with the people you love can actually have a positive effect on both mood and health. Minimize stress—which stimulates cortisol release and diminishes your capacity to fight off illness. Find small ways (a hot bath, a walk, singing along with your favorite song) to diminish the accumulation of  stress.

And of course: Minimize germ exposure. Wash your hands frequently. Use hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes after you use germ hotspots like ATMs, water fountains, credit card keypads, gas pumps, etc. Avoid touching your eyes unnecessarily—remember that germs can be transmitted this way, too.

Remember, ph360 can help you discover the specific foods, exercises, and lifestyle choices that may help keep your immune system strong year round. Explore ph360.me today.

Do you eat organic? I’m pretty health conscious so I try to buy organic food as much as I can. Although it can be hard to justify spending up to four times the amount of money for the ‘same’ product when you have a mortgage and other financial commitments. And even if you were 100% committed to spending the extra money on organic, it isn’t always very accessible.

So is buying organic worth the extra cost and effort? Or is this just another marketing ploy to sell the same things at a higher price? Technology like ph360 and the new Shae^TM are making it easy to get personalized health advice, but the choice to act on it is down to the individual. I, for one, am more likely to act if I know all the facts in the equation.

If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what ‘organic’ even means. I knew that, generally speaking, it’s food without any added chemicals but, passed that, I wasn’t clear on what the whole ‘organic’ thing is about. After all, water is a chemical. Pretty much everything is made up of chemicals. So what makes some chemicals so bad? I figured if I was going to continue to spend more on organic, I’d better educate myself about what exactly that means.

The Naughty Kind of Chemicals

When talking about organic food, the problematic chemicals in this equation are pesticides. Of course you need water to grow crops, but organic food is grown without the use of any kind of pesticides. Water = good chemicals. Pesticides = bad chemicals.

Pesticides used in the agricultural industry are intended to kill, repel or sterilize a pest so that the product being cultivated can grow to maturity unharmed or undamaged. Toxicological and epidemiological research has found numerous exposures to these chemicals to be extremely harmful to human (and animal) health. Therefore, reducing exposure to pesticides can prevent many health problems.

Sales of organic food and beverages have been growing exponentially in recent years as people are becoming more aware of their benefits. Although there are numerous studies that claim that organic produce contains a greater number of beneficial vitamins and minerals, important antioxidant phytochemicals, and ultimately greater health benefits than their non-organic counterparts, one of the most important components is the absence of harmful chemicals in organic food products.

Pesticides and Health

Despite the fact that there are rigorous tests that need to be done before a pesticide is considered legal and safe for consumer use, a European assessment on toxicity found that of the 276 legally marketed active substances in Europe, 32 out of the 76 fungicides, 25 out of the 87 herbicides and 24 out of the 66 insecticides are related to at least one health effect. So that’s 81 out of 229 pesticides that have been proven to be related to health issues, including cancer causing, endocrine disrupting, reproductive and developmental toxicity and acute toxicity!

Europe has since imposed harsher cut-off criteria resulting in the removal of many pesticides proven to be harmful, but the long-term effects of consumption of these pesticides before they were removed from the market is unknown. Similarly, we are unsure of the long-term effects of pesticides currently approved that may not have yet been properly investigated. And although Europe has imposed stricter regulations, there are many countries where harmful pesticides are still in use or products cultivated with such chemicals are imported into countries that have stricter regulations. Furthermore, people are often exposed to residues found on food made from non-organic foods and even drinking water and the true extent to which the cumulative effects of exposure affects human and environmental health is not yet known.

Are We All Doomed?

This sounds like a pretty scary situation. If you think about it, unless you grew it yourself, you really have no way of knowing exactly where your food has come from and how it was made. Do I think we’re doomed though? No I don’t.

There has already been a rise in demand for organic produce and the public are getting more and more vocal about greater transparency about what is in our food and where it has come from. As a people we may have veered a little off track when it comes to food and health but programs like ph360 make it easier to know what’s right for you as an individual, and new tech like Shae^TM puts the power to do something about it in the palm of your hand.

My concerns about what kind of food I’m eating are personal to me and my health. But there is a much bigger picture here also. The state of world health can be changed and the way to do it is to empower the individual. People are already starting to stand up and take a more considered approach to what they put into their bodies. We are educating ourselves. We are speaking up. We are demanding better health – not just for us, but for the whole world.

Our bodies are miraculous things, but how often do you listen to yours?

Many people are disconnected from what their body is telling them, as they are been ruled by their minds, listening to endless stories of guilt about the past or worrying about the future and the only time they become aware of their bodies is when something is not working correctly and they experience pain or breathlessness.

One reason so many people struggle with their weight is they are not listening to the signals that tell them they are full.

Your body is capable of telling you all sorts of things.  Here are a few:

• Whether you have had enough to eat
• Whether you are hot or cold
• What emotions are you feeling.
• Whether something is the right thing to do or not (gut instinct)
• Whether you like someone or not
• Is it safe or is it dangerous
• That part of your body is not working effectively

Learning to connect to your body not only gives you much more information with which to run your life, but it also helps reduce stress and anxiety.

To connect to your body, take a few moments of quiet time:

1. Breath in and out mindfully 2-3 times, letting the breath sink all the way down into your abdomen.
2. Be aware of how your body is feeling.
3. Feel your bottom on the chair, your feet on the floor, the position of your hands and whether you have pain, discomfort or areas of tension.
4. What ever you feel is ok and listen to see if your body tells you it needs something, such as a change of position; something to eat or drink; or the need for some exercise or relaxation time.

Practice this throughout each day and let me know what you are noticing.  Acknowledging pain and discomfort is more likely to reduce it than trying to ignore it, as what you resist persists.

Exercise such as Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and dancing can help you learn to be more in your body.

Connect with your body and enjoy!

Pam Lob

Though our country’s veterans are some of our most valuable and highly valued citizens, health care for those returning from war, or in service in the US, has a challenging track record. While considerable strides are being made to make health care services more readily and easily available for our veterans, preventive care measures can make a huge difference as well. In particular, using diet to optimize longevity may support individuals—veterans and non-veterans alike—in living longer, happier, and healthier lives.

The foods we eat influence everything from digestion to skin health, cholesterol, heart health, and even the expression of your DNA. The study of how your genes express themselves, and how that expression is affected by your environment, is called epigenetics. Environmental factors include things like where you live and your daily routine, including the foods that you eat.

The research on the negative effects of sugar and processed foods on health is abundant and widely available. But what we don’t know is how different foods affect your body uniquely—differently than anyone else’s. Most importantly, your genes for a variety of health-related factors, such as diseases, may be turned on or off by something as seemingly benign as the food that you eat.

This makes it vitally important to begin paying attention to which foods are beneficial to your health, and which may be causing you harm. And, aside from seeking the support of your physician and a nutritionist, the best way to discover that is to allow a personalized health app like ph360 guide the way.

ph360’s unmatched algorithm uses your body’s measurements and personal health history to assess the specific foods that will help keep you healthy and happy for years to come. It does this by determining which foods you may need to create hormonal balance, stimulate your metabolism, regulate your body’s physiological processes, and improve mood and overall well-being.

Sound complex? It’s as simple as can be, since you’ve got your own personalized FOOD dashboard to tell you the exact foods to eat, as well as those foods to avoid. ph360 can also help you understand the best times of day for you to eat in order to maximize energy and minimize indigestion, drowsiness, and weight gain.

If you’re not yet using ph360, take some time to assess which foods make you feel energized and vibrant, and which foods weigh you down (literally and figuratively). Make a commitment to eat more whole, unprocessed foods, and plentiful fruits and veggies (those that are best for your body). You’ll soon notice a new kind of vitality and lasting energy.

Ready to commit to your longevity and transform your health? Start at ph360.me! And share this with a veteran you love to honor them this week.