Low Vitamin D: Like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

If you've been reading my posts, you already know that an optimal vitamin D3 level will strengthen your immune and metabolic systems while improving your muscular performance and recovery capacities.      

A recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that vitamin D3 is even more important because it prevents the onset of chronic disease and actually increases the human lifespan.  Researchers found that raising serum vitamin D3 levels above 50ng/ml in those who were deficient reduced their disease mortality rate by 20 percent and increased their life expectancy by a full five years.

To put these findings into perspective, consider this:  Having a low vitamin D3 level carries the same health and life expectancy risks as smoking a pack of cigarettes every day for 15 years! ...

Core 4 Education: What is a fatty acid?

This will be the first periodic post of a our Core 4 Nutrition Education Series. In these posts,I will be discussing in detail the what, how and why of the four critical factors that we have found time and time again that people need to optimize in order to look, feel and perform at their best.  These factors include vitamin D, omega 3 fatty acids, whole-food derived antioxidants including nitric oxide and whole-food derived micronutrients.  

So let’s get started with our topic for today, what is a fatty acid and maybe more important, why should you care? 

For many years, fats have had a bad reputation because of incomplete or incorrect information. The reality is that fats are essential for life and we should not be afraid of them. To better understand how fats contribute to your good health, it is essential to understand that there are two very different kinds of fats—the good fats that our bodies need and the bad fats that cause degenerative disease....

For Higher Levels of Nitric Oxide. Let the Sun Shine In!

Chalk another one up for Mother Nature’s infinite wisdom.

While unprotected sun exposure is still actively discouraged by many health care professionals, scientific researchers continue to document—in rapidly increasing numbers—its many benefits (discussed in a previous post).  Lower blood pressure, a decreased risk of both heart attack and stroke, a heightened sense of well-being, and improved athletic performance were among the powerful and healing benefits.

Many active, health-minded people now understand that getting the appropriate dose of sunlight is critical for optimal health and performance because it fuels the skin’s ability to produce an adequate supply of vitamin D3.  But the positive consequences don’t stop there.

It turns out that the skin acts as a storage depot for nitric oxide (NO).  And that sunlight plays a critical role in activating the physiological processes that convert stored forms of NO (from dietary nitrates found in green vegetables and red beets) into the bio-available form of NO that can actually be used by the body. 

Greater Energy, Better Endurance, More Muscle: Why More Protein is Not the Answer

If you are interested in maintaining or gaining muscle or even just supporting muscle recovery, you know that protein is important—not only for energy, but for physical growth and repair.  It seems logical, then, to think that more protein is better.  But this simply isn’t the case.   

You don’t need more protein, they need more amino acids.   

The body requires access to a total of 22 different amino acids, which play a role in its ability to produce energy and maintain optimum, physical function.  Eight of the 22 amino acids are defined as ‘essential’ because they are not manufactured by the body; they must be derived from dietary proteins and/or an essential amino acid supplement.   Without an adequate supply of essential amino acids, the body cannot build muscle, develop stamina or recover well from strenuous, physical activity. About 75% of all athletes are deficient in at least one essential amino acid and, as a result, fail to recover quickly or completely...