The Revolutionary 5-Step Model for Preventing Aging and Disease
Far too many people take a passive approach to their health and aging, and feel like victims of an unlucky lottery when disease strikes. In reality, how you age, how long you live, and whether or not you will suffer with a chronic disease, is largely in your control. The following 5-step antiaging model takes a restorative approach to antiaging. By focusing on correcting imbalances before they cause symptoms and disease, this model will allow you to live a productive, happy, healthy and disease-free life. It will also help you to look years younger than your age and to maintain full cognitive capabilities right to the end.
1st Step – Focus on Your Subconscious and Conscious Thoughts
Although it is ironically the most overlooked factor in antiaging medicine, the state of your conscious and subconscious mind is the greatest dictator of your health and longevity. Deepak Chopra has long preached that your cells eavesdrop on your thoughts, and science is now proving that our thoughts do in-fact manifest our reality. As soon as a thought is processed, neuropeptides (molecules that influence brain and body activity) are released that are completely unique to that thought. So, for instance, if you are trying to lose weight, and you constantly say to yourself “I’m so fat, I’m never going to lose this weight,” your brain will release a whole different set of neuropeptides, then if you were to say “I’m really happy that I’m losing this weight.”
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The results produced by your thoughts are far more profound and instantaneous than the results produced by surgery or pharmaceutical drugs. As such, it’s essential that you reprogram your conscious and subconscious mind, and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Some effective techniques for reprogramming thought processes include: cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnosis, meditation, positive affirmations, vision boards, and purposefully visualizing desired positive outcomes. Also, try to simplify your life, surround yourself with positive people, monitor your self-talk, and give energy to those things that are most meaningful.
2nd Step – Optimize The Physical State of Your Body
The second part of the antiaging model is focused on the state of your body – the physical structure of your bones and skin, your lymphatic system, your blood vessels, and all of your DNA, cells and organs. Pay attention to any type of pain, and any indicator of physical, mental or emotional imbalance or disease. These are early warning signs from your body that something isn’t right and if left unaddressed they can progress into a full-blown health crises. Achieve a healthy body weight, make sure your LDL and HDL cholesterol levels are in the optimal range, and actively increase nitric oxide levels (for more information on nitric oxide benefits and how to boost it: http://www.nickdelgado.com/how-to-boost-health-heal-injuries-and-slow-aging-with-nitric-oxide/). Finally lengthen your telomeres (the protective tips at the end of your chromosomes); emerging research suggests telomere shortening may be the root cause of aging and disease.
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To help bring balance to the body, practice restorative yoga and engage in conscious breathing exercises three times daily. Exercise for 300 minutes a week and focus on balance and flexibility over cardio heart rate ranges. Also, try integrating exercise into your daily living activities (i.e. take the stairs not the elevator, park far away etc.). Finally, to enhance telomere length, practice stress reduction techniques, eat antioxidant rich foods, and consider taking a telomere health supporting supplement such as Stay Young: http://www.delgadonaturals.com/all-products-1/
3rd Step – Balance Your Hormones
The third part of the model is focused on measuring and optimizing hormone levels. And optimal does not necessarily mean that each hormone is within the standardized ‘normal range,’ it means that you are within an optimal range for your personal biochemistry. Everyone should have their testosterone, estrogen, cortisol and TSH measured. And a more comprehensive hormone assessment should be utilized if you are chronically ill or fatigued; if you have stubborn weight gain, bone loss, premature signs of aging, high cholesterol, insomnia, depression, cognitive issues, a low sex drive, or a chronic disease; or you simply don’t feel quite right. A comprehensive hormone test should measure the following additional hormones: DHT, estrone, estradiol, estriol, progesterone, DHEA, melatonin, free T3 and T4, and androstenedione.
*You can order kits that test for all of the above hormones here: http://www.delgadonaturals.com/hormone-testing-kits/
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If hormones are out of balance have a wellness practitioner design a personalized diet and lifestyle program to bring them back into optimal range. Regardless of what hormone imbalance you have, you will benefit from optimizing sleep and avoiding vegetable oils, processed foods, and animal products. Many hormonal imbalances can also be fixed with herbs and nutraceutical supplements, and in more severe cases with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. For a range of effective hormone balancing supplements: http://www.delgadonaturals.com/all-products-1/
*Bonus tip – if you experience weight gain that doesn’t respond to diet and exercise than thyroid, cortisol and/or insulin imbalances are likely at play.
4th Step – Enhance Nutritional Status
The 4th part of the antiaging model is nutrition centered. You should measure your nutrition status annually with Spectracellm4 or NutraEvalTM, which are covered by most insurance plans. Some of the most common nutrient deficiencies to consider, include: vitamins D, K2, E, A, choline, and B12; magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron (particularly for women), and iodine. If you eat a wholefoods based diet with a lot of variety and your tests still show nutritional deficiencies than you may have parasites, or intestinal/digestive issues such as crohn’s disease or celiac disease, that are preventing you from properly absorbing nutrients. Some other common causes of malabsorption issues that lead to nutrient deficiencies, include: long-term antibiotic use, alcoholism, intestinal damage caused by inflammation or infection, lactose intolerance, radiation therapy, pancreatitis; and gallbladder, liver or pancreas disease.
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Consume a wholefoods, plant-based, organic, diet, and fill of your plate-up with vegetables at each meal. Try to eat 8 different colors of fruits and veggies daily, this will ensure that you maximize phytonutrient variety. Don’t drink liquids with your meals because they dilute digestive juices; and take a digestive enzyme or a tsp. of raw apple cider vinegar with meals if your digestion capabilities are compromised. If you require supplements, use only high-quality products; the cheaper ones are typically ineffective, un-absorbable, synthetic, and loaded with harmful additives.
5th Step – Reduce Your Toxic Load
The final step for antiaging is focused on toxins. You need to reduce your exposure to toxic heavy metals such as mercury; to electromagnetic fields (EMFs); and to eliminate sugar, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. You also should reduce your exposure to xenoestrogens, such as: skin and body products, house cleaners, plastic food and beverage containers, and GMO foods. It’s also important to breakdown and eliminate the toxins that have already been stored inside of you, and you can do so by cleansing the 6 major elimination organs: skin, lymphatics, kidney, gall bladder, bowel and liver.
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Whenever possible, choose organic, all-natural food products, cosmetics and cleaning products. Use a skin brush and bounce on a trampoline to enhance lymphatic clearing of toxins. Take infra-red saunas, and consider acupuncture and deep tissue massages to help aid in the detoxification process. To cleanse the eliminative organs, consume 10+ glasses of purified water daily, eat a high-fiber wholefoods diet, and raise your pH by increasing oxygen in the body (which you can do by simply breathing deeply).
