Nowadays, my writing passion on health and lifestyle has increased.
I realized that crappy life sucks joy and energy from our life but passionate work provides meaning and creates energy.
Life is too short to not do something that each one of us loves, I love to read, write and think about my passionate things at 5 am in the morning, if I’m awake.
In a normal setting, I sleep between 9 to 10 pm everyday so 5 am is not a big deal for me.
My learning over the years is, the more time I dedicate to my passionate work, the more I am getting back tangibly as well as intangibly.
I feel vibrant and amazing.
Most of all, I feel full satisfaction from my actions.
The universe rewards us for helping others especially in knowledge transfer work in profound and immeasurable ways at some point.
This is my core belief.
I also feel more freedom and happiness when I do my passionate work, my belief is that freedom comes from limits and not from unlimited choices.
My limit is my rituals and routines in life.
My website www.yamtimsina.com has more than hundred articles now, all are results of rituals and routines of my life.
I’m a big fan of Jocko Willink, retired Navy SEAL and author of ‘Discipline Equals Freedom.’
Willink said, “The keys to becoming stronger, smarter, faster, and healthier, we need to achieve true freedom, and the way to go is discipline.”
One of my areas of passion is, obviously, a healthy lifestyle with a healthy diet because millions of people are dying from lifestyle diseases.
My mission is to help them, if possible.
Many many years ago, I was also suffering from a wrong lifestyle and diet that initiated a disease but eventually I crushed it simply by improving my habits.
Fibers bind with estrogen and cholesterol and flush them out during fecal excretions otherwise they are reabsorbed into our bloodstream
Over the years, I developed a fiber eating habit and that tremendously helped my overall health.
Here is one science fact about how fiber foods take care of our body.
Around 50 billion cells die each day in our body and about the same are born at the same time.
As we mature with time, our cells don’t grow in size, only in number.
We have around 40 trillion cells in our body, around 4 times more than when we were a child.
To regulate these cell growth, IGF-1, a hormone, a chemical signal, is responsible.
Our brain’s pituitary gland maintains and organizes IGF-1 production in our body.
If this IGF-1 is higher in our bloodstream, it’s not good because it means more risk for developing some cancers like breast, colorectal, and prostate.
The fact is, IGF-1 doesn’t just make tumors and kill us, it is because of its metastases.
IGF-1 separates cancer cells, infiltrates surrounding tissues and goes into the bloodstream throughout our body.
It is involved in all biochemical processes to turn normal cells into cancer cells and creates a bigger problem.
So the key is we have to lower the IGF-1, by lowering it, we have a double advantage, decreasing cancer risk and increasing longevity.
Many existing foods of animal origin contain sex steroid hormones like estrogen.
For example, nowadays, genetically modified dairy cows are milked throughout their pregnancy periods when their reproductive hormones are very high.
The hormones in dairy products and other growth factors could stimulate the growth of hormone sensitive tumors.
Remember, dairy milk increases the risk of breast cancers because of estrogen levels in dairy milk and the IGF-1 in the milk.
As a substitute, soymilk is the best choice to replace dairy milk in our diet because soy milk reduces the risk of breast and prostate cancers.
It improves gut health and decreases inflammation and free radical DNA damage.
It can improve insulin resistance and lowers LDL cholesterol.
Soymilk or soy products also prevent hair loss when we age.
For the same reasons, cow’s milk also stimulates the growth of human prostate cancer cells.
But, as a substitute, almond milk suppresses the growth of cancer cells.
People suffering from prostate cancers become worse if they eat animal products like chicken and turkey regularly.
Over the last many years, one habit I developed is I eat a lot of fibers everyday.
I eat whole grains, oats, flax and chia seeds, nuts, beans, and fruits all the time.
I check all the time the total amount of carbohydrate and fiber reported in the food label.
If the ratio of carbohydrate to fiber in grams is more than 5, I’m not interested, I need less than 5.
Keep in mind, the importance of fiber is immense.
Among many benefits, one is that our body removes excess estrogen and excess cholesterol by throwing them into the digestive tract.
If we eat enough fiber then they take those estrogen and cholesterol and flush them out.
If there is no excess fiber then these excess hormones and cholesterol are reabsorbed into the bloodstream.
This is bad for us so we have to eat a lot of fiber to remove excess hormones and cholesterol to excrete out.
Remember, by eating more plant based fiber food, we produce more fecal excretions so that we remove more estrogens out of the body.
I recommend to watch ‘How Fiber Lowers Cholesterol’ in NutritionFacts.org, from Michael Greger, MD, the author of ‘How Not to Die.’
Research also shows that ground flaxseeds and soy products are very effective for menopausal problems, the reason they are good is because flaxseed contains phytoestrogens.
They are nothing but lignans and omega-3s.
Soys contains soy isoflavones and soy phytoestrogens that help in menopause problems.
Lower the rate of glycation, lower the glycation products formation, and less chance of having lifestyle diseases and the longer we can live healthy
Do you know why Okinawan in Japan and Adventists in Loma, Linda, California live so long?
Read the book ‘Blue Zones’ by Dan Buettner to know the secrets for living longer from the people who’ve lived the longest from the blue zones.
One fact is they treat our human body as a temple, the belief developed by adventists in Loma Linda, California, the only blue zone in the USA.
One research reports that Okinawan people in Japan live long due to sweet potatoes which they eat regularly.
Remember, purple and orange sweet potatoes are the best of the best foods.
Purple sweet potatoes are miracles for healthy living.
They reduce inflammation, amplify autophagy, delay senescence in human blood vessel cells, and activate sirtuin activity by boosting levels of NAD+.
I’ve also developed a habit of eating sweet potatoes regularly.
Michael Greger, MD, author of ‘How Not to Age’ said “there are evidence-based strategies to combat aging through diet and lifestyle, exploring many cellular pathways and natural compounds found in foods like sweet potatoes that can promote longevity and wellness.”
Purple sweet potato anthocyanins have prebiotic effects, they enhance the proliferation of the good bacteria in our gut, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.
Remember, we have bacteria in our body, not only in our gut, we have bacteria in our blood and brain too.
Our brain has its own microbiome.
Our body has more bacterial genes than our own human genes.
Steven Gundry, MD, author of ‘Gut-Brain Paradox’ said, “We are beginning to see how the gut of the bad microbiome is becoming the real root of neuroinflammation, which is the real cause of neurodegeneration and many common mental health and cognitive issues.”
‘Gut-Brain Paradox’ is a fantastic read to know how the gut microbiome and brain communicate.
This relationship also emphasizes why we need to eat more orange and purple sweet potatoes.
To live longer like Okinawan in Japan,
-Eat more soy or soy products like soymilk.
-Eat sweet potatoes.
-Eat seaweed.
-Eat mushrooms and tempeh, a fungi fermented soybean cake. They are good sources of ergothioneine, a longevity vitamin, and a potent intramitochondrial antioxidant. Porcini mushrooms the best, followed by oyster and shiitake in terms of ergothioneine content.
-Eat garlic, ginger, and turmeric every day in some way.
Modern medicines can do a good job for broken bones, damaged muscles, and different chronic infections but not for lifestyle diseases.
In many of the lifestyle diseases, they do more harm than good.
Let’s take an example of diabetes and its relation to the present lifestyle of roasted hot dogs and chicken.
If we are diabetic, we do HbA1c testing which measures blood sugar level.
This gives our average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months.
This blood test indicates the percentage of hemoglobin in our blood that has undergone glycation in our body.
Simply to understand, glycation is a chemical reaction between sugar that we eat and protein like hemoglobin in our blood.
Remember, hemoglobin protein is in our red blood cells that carries oxygen.
When the blood sugar is higher, the more protein undergoes glycation reaction, the general chemistry principle.
Red blood cells can last about 3 months so the HbA1c gives us a rolling average over this period.
If 6.5 percent or higher amount of hemoglobin in the blood is under glycation, we are diabetic.
If we have 5.7 to 6.4, we are prediabetic.
If less than 5.7, we are normal.
Hemoglobin’s half life is low around 50 days so in around 50 days half of the hemoglobin gets renewed in our body.
Our general concept is if our HbA1c is under 5.7 we are good.
But what if this glycation reaction happens for other proteins than hemoglobin?
If these other proteins have a higher half life, then we suffer from high blood pressure, artery disease, heart disease, cancers, and many others.
Remember, In many cases, when glycation reactions happen in proteins, they cross link together with many others and stiffen our tissues.
Just think about the stiffness of your breast tissue, what do you suspect?
There is risk for breast cancer.
When these glycation products accumulate in our bones, joints, muscles, we bring a lot of problems like osteoporosis, arthritis, cataracts, Alzheimer’s disease, erectile dysfunction, and many other related diseases.
The bottom line is: lower the rate of glycation, lower the glycation products formation, the longer we can live healthy.
Minimize or avoid roasted, fried, broiled foods especially meat items because in these foods we ingest more glycation products.
These foods we make at high temperature, and glycation products are formed faster at higher temperatures than normal body temperature.
Over the last many years, I have significantly reduced ,minimized or avoided roasted, fried, broiled foods especially meat in my daily life.
Muscles undergo breakdown in old age to maintain our body’s pH, this breakdown prevention is possible by making a lifestyle with more alkaline foods like legumes, beans, fruits, and vegetables
Black tea is a unique beverage for our healthy living.
It is not only an anti-inflammatory beverage but also an antioxidant booster with tons of polyphenols including theaflavins, thearubigins, flavonoids, caffeine, and L-theanine.
Research shows that black tea improves arterial function within hours of ingestion as well as it increases attention and alertness.
But adding milk to black tea can completely remove the positive effects of tea on artery function.
Casein, a milk protein, binds the polyphenols of tea and prevents their absorption in our body.
If possible the substitute is soy milk, interestingly, soymilk doesn’t show the same irreversible binding.
Recent research also indicates the power of synergy between soy and tea, this combination decreased the tumor load of human prostate cancer implants in mice.
I recommend to watch ‘Tea and Artery Function’ in NutritionFacts.org, from Michael Greger, MD, the author of ‘How Not to Diet.’
Milk also does the same thing while making strawberry smoothies.
Strawberries blend with water spike strawberry anthocyanins in our bloodstream, it’s good for our health.
But the blend in milk reduces half of the anthocyanins in our bloodstream.
Anthocyanins are polyphenols which are best for our brain, they are capable to cross the blood brain barrier and settle in the brain regions of learning and memory.
Berries are best to slow the rate of cognitive decline as we become older.
When we become older, our kidney’s power to excrete acid goes down.
To neutralize this acid, our kidneys produce a lot of ammonia from glutamine, an amino acid pulling from our healthy muscles.
When acid level in our body goes up, our adrenal glands also produce stress hormone cortisol.
This hormone also degrades our muscle protein to produce the same glutamine.
What it all means, the muscle undergoes breakdown in old age to maintain our body’s pH which is acid base balance.
If this acid base balance is broken by shifting towards a more acid generating diet, there could be a lot of negative consequences in old age: osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney stones, depression, anxiety, gout, and kidney failure.
What is the sustainable solution for us?
We have to try to make a lifestyle with more alkaline foods.
All legumes, beans, fruits, and vegetables are alkaline foods.
Most meats including fish, poultry, and dairy are acidic foods, we have to minimize or avoid them gradually.
Obesity is another challenge of modern lifestyle catalyzed by binge watching and processed foods.
Obesity is associated with accelerated cellular aging which is measured by telomere shortening.
This all happens due to oxidative stress and systemic inflammation that accompany excess body fat in our body.
Undoubtedly, the best weight loss diet is a whole food, plant based diet.
Remember, a ketogenic diet is a high fat diet, but a whole food plant based diet is a low fat diet.
One simple example to see the difference between unsaturated and saturated fat in our life.
Oleic acid, a primary monounsaturated fat in nuts, avocados, and olives is burnt 20 percent more readily than palmitic acid.
Palmitic acid is found mainly in meat and dairy, and is a saturated fat.
Reduction of foods with saturated fat is key to control obesity.
Chili pepper and ground ginger as a ginger tea activate BAT, brown adipose tissue, for weight loss.
BAT generates heat by consuming fat calories.
This helps to maintain BMI, body mass index.
BMI from 20 to 24 is ideal for the longest healthy lifespan.
Another habit that I’ve developed over the years is 7 to 8 hours of deep sleep.
Remember, we don’t have control of this precious life in many ways, our birth we didn’t have control.
Likewise, thinking of our death, we have no way of knowing how it is going to happen.
And as we all know, in between birth and death, there is life.
We have work, family, and many others to manage but, keep in mind, these all are possible, only if this machine functions properly.
Calm down and make a habit of sleeping 7 to 8 hours stress-free everyday, it needs practice to make a habit.
The reward of 7 to 8 hours of deep sleep is enormous.
Seven to eight hours sleep is a sweet sleep spot, less and more of this range are not good for various reasons.
Sleep enhances immune defenses in our body.
Fewer than six hours of sleep end up with significantly fewer protective antibodies in our bloodstream.
If we sleep only 5 hours for a week, our testosterone level will drop by 10 to 15 percent.
Sleeping pills to achieve this sweet spot of 7 to 8 hours don’t work scientifically.
Fenugreek seed can increase the testicular weight and testosterone production.
It also improves sex drive and arousal along with LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar control.
Conclusion
These are some extra healthy habits I developed over the years, these are not only science based research facts but also my own personal experiences.
I made a habit of eating almonds and prunes.
If you think you have weaker bones, almonds prevent bone loss and prunes help to build bones so the combination of both is good for overall bone health.
I made a habit of eating mangoes regularly.
Mango has become one of my favourite fruits recently.
Mangoes are excellent to avoid constipation.
Remember, constipation is a common problem as we age and it is an invitation to more serious health problems later in life.
Mango has an anti-inflammatory effect, it helps to drop blood IL-6 levels.
It has a prebiotic effect, increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus, the good bacteria in our gut.
I made a habit of taking cranberry and its powder form to remove the problem of BPH and overactive bladder that helps to reduce trips to the bathroom.
Plant based foods especially with onion, garlic, and tomatoes are good for lowering BPH.
In my family, there is a BPH problem, so I’m taking these precautions very carefully, and it is working.
I’m also reducing evening protein consumption which produces urea and leads to nocturia.
I generally eat a lot of legumes, beans, soy milk and soy products, ground flaxseed and pumpkin seeds regularly.
I try to make a habit to reduce my salt intake everyday.
I eat berries, onions, and green tea regularly to increase circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs).
Remember, decreased EPCs means a high risk of cardiovascular diseases as we age.
Yam Timsina, PhD, writes primarily on health basics, scientific progress, social upliftment, and value creation.
Disclaimer: “Please note that some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.”
