Chiropractor | chiropractic care | | Science Behind In8

"One should eat to live,           not live to eat."

-- Benjamin Franklin

Start With a Healthy Diet

The food you eat supplies much more than just fuel for your body to function properly. It provides the raw materials from which your skin, hair, muscle, bone, and all other tissues are made. Your diet provides nutrients that are necessary to manufacture hormones and enzymes that control the function of every cell in your body. Your body also uses these nutrients to make neurotransmitters that regulate how you think and feel. Therefore, ensuring a proper balance of nutrients is essential to your overall health.

You really are what you eat, and that's why a balanced diet is so important.

Glycemic Index of Foods

"It has been postulated that obesity is related to glycemic index....the lower the glycemic index and load of the first meal, the less food is consumed in the subsequent meal."

- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2002;76(suppl):266S-73S

Foods that produce high levels of blood sugar are called high glycemic index (GI) foods; for example, white bread, potatoes, cereals, chips, soda, cookies, and candy. When your diet consists predominantly of these foods, your body responds by producing higher levels of insulin than it would if you were to eat lower GI foods. When insulin levels are high, your body not only converts blood sugar into energy, but also stores extra energy as fat. Thus, when insulin levels are high you store more fat; when insulin levels are normal you burn fat more efficiently.

Insulin Resistance

"Insulin resistance often develops with advancing age, and may play a prominent role in the aging process..."

- Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 2002;957: 250-59

It has been suggested that 33% of the American population is resistant to the action of insulin. In other words, their bodies have to produce more insulin than is healthy just to maintain normal blood sugar levels. This extremely common condition is called "insulin resistance."

People diagnosed with insulin resistance are generally overweight and often have low energy levels, difficulty losing weight, mood swings, and increased muscle loss. In addition, it has been shown that people who have insulin resistance are at an increased risk of developing certain chronic diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.

For these reasons, it is important to control your insulin levels. And yes, to a great extent, your insulin levels are in your control. You can:

• Eat low GI foods
• Avoid high GI foods
• Combine diet with nutritional supplements
• Exercise

The Many Benefits of Exercise

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle that occurs as people age. 

"Sarcopenia is the backdrop against which the drama of disease is played out: a body already depleted of protein becasue of aging is less able to with standthe protein catabolism that comes with acute illness or inadequate protein intake."

- JAMA 2001;286(10):1230-1231

"Muscle is the major source of protein for functions such as antibody production, wound healing, and white blood cell production during illness.  If the body's protein reserves are already depleted by sarcopenia, there is less to mobilize for illness."

- JAMA 2001;286(10):1230-1231

Exercise not only gives you a better body shape, but also confers many health benefits  that allow you to live a longer, more active life. It has a direct influence on insulin and sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle) and is a vital component of the In8 Therapeutic Lifestyle Change program. Regular exercise:

• Increases your body's metabolic rate-this means that you burn more calories, even after you have stopped exercising.
• Increases your body's percent of lean muscle versus percent of body fat. And since muscle is metabolically more active, the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn, even while you are resting!
• Improves your insulin sensitivity and blood sugar handling.
• Lowers your cholesterol levels.
• Lowers your risk of the most common chronic diseases.
• Increase your energy and vitality.
• Improves your quality of sleep.
• Reduces stress and tension.
• Elevates your mood and increases your mental performance.

The good news is that it is never too late to do something about it. Beginning in the 1980s, research at Tufts University has shown that people in their 80s and even 90s can gain benefits from exercise similar to those seen in young men and women. Age is not the issue. No one should lose hope of recapturing youthful levels of fitness and vitality!