How is your light diet? For your best night’s sleep ever and to reduce unwanted body fat, VERNE MAREE recommends hacking your circadian rhythm with red light in the morning, getting plenty of natural daylight, and minimising blue light after dark.
As promised in Part One of this series on light, here are some thoughts on how sunrise and morning light sets us up for a good night’s sleep, and how too much blue light can actually make us fat!
Our light diet may be as important as sleep, nutrition and exercise, VERNE MAREE discovers.
I rejoice when I see Roy outside with his shirt off. Not only because he – like most of us – looks heaps better with a tan, but because I know it’s boosting his immune system and helping him to live long and strong.
In fact, he’s just had a load of blood tests – and his Vitamin D is way up where it belongs.
(The above pic of Roy on Yallingup Beach was taken a couple of weeks ago; click here for that travel blog post, and if you like it, please sign up to Travels with Verne and Roy!)
Orthorexia – or orthorexia nervosa – is a newish and very first-world condition. And no orthorexic is likely to admit to being one, says VERNE MAREE.
I know a bit about body dysmorphia and disordered eating, so when Roy says things like: “I’ll have just one bite of cake,” or “Let’s share that banana”, my spidey sense is alerted.
You’ll remember that Roy lost 35kg on my Low Carb, No Crap® eating plan; and it’s great that he’s determined to keep it off. But when he asks for three chips with his fish, is he going too far?
Get more collagen, says VERNE MAREE! Working to keep your skin taut and healthy and your musculoskeletal system strong, collagen is the body’s most abundant protein.
When my dear friend Christa suggested I do a blog on collagen – maybe marine vs bovine – I thought, why not? Call me strange, but collagen is in fact something I think about most days: whether I’m adding collagen powder to a smoothie, making bone broth, or, sadly less frequently, booking a collagen-boosting facial treatment.
For me, collagen is about both looking young and staying strong.
Snoring – are you a perpetrator or a victim? VERNE MAREE confesses to having been both, and offers some solutions.
Snoring is no joke… it’s a serious hazard to your health, and possibly to your relationship, too.
True Snoring Story, UK Summer 2005
Snorers often don’t like to admit they snore, and Roy was one of them. But his cover was irrevocably blown one summer, when he rented a lovely converted barn in Warwickshire – close to his mother’s home – to accommodate the whole family.
What is grounding, anyway? Getting and staying grounded is becoming increasingly important for mental, physical and emotional health… and can be difficult to achieve in these ever-crazier times. Verne Maree thinks that walking barefoot on Mother Earth is a good place to start.
Getting back on track ASAP after the festive season is a jolly good idea for health and longevity. Fortunately, while you’re still feeling utterly stuffed, it may not be so hard to do.
Have you recently been derailed by mince pies? – or Prosecco, or pavlova, or whatever your seasonal poison may be? I know I have. It doesn’t take long to go off the rails. Fortunately, there’s nothing to stop us getting right back on track – and in the case of Roy and me, that means back on to the Low Carb, No Crap TM eating plan that helped him lose 35kg… and keep it off.
The pics below, taken a year apart, are presented as evidence. (It’s a shame I couldn’t afford a new dress.)
How much fat we need depends on other things – how many carbs we can tolerate, for example, and what sort of fat we choose. Saturated fats from sustainably pastured animals is a pretty good start.
Note: The droolworthy featured image (above) is from the cover of The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz
I’ve always liked this old 16th-century English rhyme, mainly because it sounded just like my parents – my tall, skinny, carrot-crunching father and my plump, butter-loving mother. Luckily, though I inherited her penchant for pork crackling, fatty lamb chops and anything sautéed in butter, I also inherited a tendency to Dad’s lanky frame – as long as I curb my cursed sweet tooth!
Blood donation benefits go way, way beyond saving the lives of others. Wondering why I’m donating blood? If you guessed it was for selfish motives, you’d be right. Though I do like the idea of helping my fellow citizens – and it’s estimated that each 470ml donation can save up to three lives – I mainly do it because it’s good for my own health and longevity.
By donating blood I’m burning calories, reducing my risk of cancer and protecting myself from liver disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis and other signs of heart disease – plus, the fact of helping others has been shown to increase our happiness and improve our mood.
Donating Down Under
Last week, I finally succeeded in donating blood here in Australia. I’d registered as a donor around three years earlier, but was deemed unsafe because of having visited South Africa, a malarial region, within the previous six months. (Odd thing, that: they happily took and used my blood in Durban!)
What is creatine? Who should take creatine? Why to take it: to improve muscle strength, bone mass, brain health, memory, eyesight and hearing, and to prevent sarcopaenia and frailty. Keep track of muscle and promote anti-frailty with the InBody 570 body composition scanner.
What is creatine?
Creatine is an amino acid found mainly in muscle and brain tissue. Our livers, kidneys and pancreas naturally produce 1-2g of the stuff each day, mostly from eating fish and meat. In the form we’re likely to buy it, it’s a derivative of three amino acids: L-arginine, glycine and L-methionine. It’s also the most highly researched supplement out there – and you can be sure that it’s not just effective, but extremely safe.
According to Healthline.com, creatine grows muscle by causing numerous changes within muscle cells that signal the body to produce new muscle proteins and increase muscle mass. It also helps to maintain existing muscle mass by limiting protein breakdown – another win. And remember, its effect on muscle mass is just one of many benefits.
