I described My Basic Recipe for Low Carbing in a previous post. As I seek for ever improving health and wellness, I am always ready to try additional ingredients, or variations on my basic recipe, to transform My Basic Low Carb Diet into An Extended Recipe for Optimal Health. I am not there yet. To optimal health, I mean. I am still very much in process.
My Extended Recipe … Toward Optimal Health
Here are a few of my favorite “Additional Ingredients” I have added to Low Carbing to move my health in the direction of optimal health.
Supplements
A Few of My Favorite Supplements
– Vitamin D
– Essential Fatty Acids (Omega-3, etc)
– Probiotics
– Antioxidants
Sunshine
I listed Vitamin D above as one of my favorite supplements, but I have also been reading about sunshine and the many benefits associated with adequate sun exposure. I have begun trying to get more natural sunshine. In Southern California I see a lot of sunshine all year round, so this shouldn’t be too difficult! According to one source, San Diego is about the farthest north you can live and still get adequate sunshine naturally year round. I live in Los Angeles, so that’s pretty close. Though the summer of 2009 has had surprisingly little of our characteristic sunshine!
If you want to read about Vitamin D and/or sunshine, check out these books at Amazon. I have not read any of these books yet, but all three seem to score well in Amazon reviews.
The Vitamin D Cure
by James Dowd M.D. and Diane Stafford
The Vitamin D Revolution: How the Power of This Amazing Vitamin Can Change Your Life
by Dr. Soram Khalsa M.D.
Vitamin D: Antidote to Winter and the Darkness
by Michael Merrill
Fresh Air & Breathing
I believe in getting plenty of fresh air. I live in Los Angeles, so how likely is that? I try to get out of the city as often as I can to expand my lungs, gaze at wide open spaces and contemplate life. On the other hand, I do live within a couple of miles from the Pacific Ocean, so there is always fresh air blowing through my neighborhood. Now that I ride a motorcycle for most of my basic transporation, I am getting a lot more fresh air on a daily basis. Except when I get stuck behind a bus or a truck…
Many people are advocates of breathwork, or breathing exercises. Regarded by some as merely a relaxation technique, breath and its control is believed by many to be a pathway to the soul, or inner being. The very word “breath” is closely related to the word for “spirit” in many languages and religious traditions. Breathwork has a long and rich history in many cultures and religions. Dr. Andrew Weil is a big fan. I read in one of his books that he teaches two or three breath techniques to every patient he sees, no matter what their complaint. That’s how powerful he believes breathwork is.
A daily routine of useful Breathing Exercises is still sort of on my “To Do” list. I have as yet, not fully incorporated breathwork into my lifestyle. I sing in an ensemble at my church, so I do some breathwork as I warm up, practice and sing.
If you are interested in further study, my favorite book about breath and breathwork is: Jumpstart Your Metabolism: How To Lose Weight By Changing The Way You Breathe by Pam Grout.
Exercise
If my primary problem is obesity and my primary desire weight loss, it is my personal opinion that my primary tool will be nutrition rather than exercise. Different types of exercise offer different benefits and different risks to different people. For the most part, I think all exercise, and cardio in particular, is overrated. Not useless. Just overrated.
Followers of the Calories in, Calories out hypothesis claim that exercise is absolutely critical to good health, and to safe, effective weight loss in particular. But I don’t believe them. I just don’t think that forced organized exercise routines give us all the benefits that exercise experts claim they do. I do think I could probably gain some benefits from some type and amount of exercise, but I have not found a program that works for me in my current situation.
For many years, I lived a very active life. I worked for almost 20 years as a printer, a bona fide blue collar laborer. I was on my feet all day. I lifted heavy loads and used my muscles for a living. I exercised and I liked it. However, at the approximate age of 35, I sat down at a computer and became an office worker, and the wonderful physical labor I had enjoyed for so long was taken from me by my job change, a foot injury, two foot surgeries and many subsequent years of chronic pain.
It was just about a year ago that I found a lasting solution to my chronic pain, which involved my own personal Vitamin D miracle!! (That story is for another post!) For now let me just say that I am looking forward to the day that I can enjoy exercise again, but for the moment I’m not into it. I’m pretty sure I could get some benefit from the right kind of exercise, especially in the area of improved insulin sensitivity, but I have not been able to get it going as yet.
I recently bought the book: The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution
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To see my Basic Recipe for Low Carbing
check out my new Low Carbing Page
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Lovin’ It Low Carb
Ramona Denton
The opinions expressed on this blog are not intended to be medical advice and should not be taken as advice of any kind. Always consult your doctor or healthcare professional if you have health concerns or want to alter medications or treatments.
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