TabsMagic

Vitamin D is appearing in the news a lot recently, mostly due to deficiency of it. There have been several opinions abounding on what is the correct recommended daily amount of Vitamin D and also what is the best source of vitamin D.

Professor emeritus of biochemistry and biomedical sciences, Anthony Norman is an internationally recognised expert on vitamin D. He says that there is insufficient Vitamin D intake for over half the people of Western Europe and North America.

Professor Norman described his fears about vitamin D lack, saying, “Elsewhere, it is worse. Given that two-thirds of the people are vitamin D-insufficient or deficient. It is clear that merely eating vitamin D-rich foods is not adequate to solve the problem for most adults.”

Vitamin intake is measured in ‘IUs’ (international units) and the daily recommendation fro vitamin D is 200 for people up to 50 years old, 400 for those between 51 and 70, and 600 for those over 70.

Norman wants to up those recommendations considerably. He said: “There is a wide consensus among scientists that the relative daily intake of vitamin D should be increased to 2,000 to 4,000 IU for most adults.”
Norman described how it could be done, saying “A 2000 IU daily intake can be achieved by a combination of sunshine, food, supplements, and possibly even limited tanning exposure.”

There are some very pressing reasons why an increase in the dosage of vitamin D would be beneficial to health, or at least getting the majority of people up to the current RDA. Norman revealed that “Several studies have reported substantial reductions in incidence of breast cancer, colon cancer and type 1 diabetes in association with adequate intake of vitamin D, the positive effect generally occurring within five years of initiation of adequate vitamin D intake.

Motivation is a key issue in the world of a personal trainer….

I think that the most important part of my job is to find what motivates my client to rech their goals- and to work on exploiting that as much as possible so to maximise their gains.

Many people are motivated by a particular date, be it a wedding to lose weight and get in shape for, or a sporting competition to train for…….

Many people are motivated by a certain ‘life awareness’ event that has made them realise that they need to optimise their experience on earth and being fit and healthy will help them do this,……..

Many people gain extra motivation just  out of paying me!! So many clients say to me ‘well, i have paid you to help me do this now so i sure as hell am going to do it!!’

I think that the fact that personal training  is an option above the run of the mill getting fit is what makes it work, i have never yet had a client that i have not got to their goal…..

Worldwide it has become apparent that some communities live longer than others……….why?

The people on the Japanese island of Okinawa are one of the worlds longest lived. They eat a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables but additionally they have a culture in which people only eat until they are 80% full.

In Ikaria, a Greek island is the largest per capita population of over 90 year olds any where in the world. The local people on Ikaria drink a thick mountain herbal tea several times a day. The drink contains a mixture of herbs such as purple sage, spleenwort, rosemary and wild mint. They also eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and olive oil and practically no processed foods.

In these islands generally if you want to get somewhere, you have to walk due to no such thing as public transport….
The Seventh Day Adventists, a California a community in Loma Linda are expected to outlive their fellow citizens by 5 to 10 years. Because they are vegetarian and do not smoke or drink, this is believed to be the reason. Additionally the fact they the community experience less stress may also be contribute.

In Pakistan the people living in the Hunza Valley have a very high chance of living past 90. Their diet too is rich in fruit, grain and vegetables. However they also eat a lot of plums, peaches, apricots and cherries in higher amounts than usual. Also, they tend to eat much of their food raw.

In the southern part of Ecuador in the Vilcambamba region, a higher percentage of people are reaching into their 100’s and that too in a great state of health. This may be due to them drinking a lot of natural mineral water that is exceptionally pure.

So it seems that the less ”developed” the community, the longer the lifespan……………?

Hmmmm………