Nice & Easy

Nice & Easy

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This is a transcript of Radio Program #394 dealing with getting into shape to run the Marathon.

GARY NULL: Hi, I'm Gary Null. Welcome to the sights and sounds of Central Park and the Natural Living Walking and Running club. During our program today you're going to see exactly how, going from stage one right through a marathon, you can get yourself into shape. This program is meant for anyone. It doesn't matter what your age or state of conditioning. We intend to show you exercise, diet, stress management, stretching, relaxation and guided visualization, the things that are necessary for optimal conditioning.

I realize that the majority of people just want to get into shape. They just want to lose some weight and feel better. They want to burn off some fat and replace it with muscle tissue. We're going to help you do that and we're going to make it fun.

You're going to see people such as Franco Pantoni, one of the finest power walking coaches in America. You're going to see Dr. Howard Robbins, Sports Podiatrist and Exercise Physiologist.

Let me also mention that we're going to show you that you can pace yourself at your own speed.

EXERCISE CHECKLIST

Get a Complete Physical

Now a few things to begin. First and most importantly, you may have hidden hypertension, high blood pressure. You may have clogged arteries and not know it. Remember, we're dealing with upwards of probably 30 million Americans, minimal, who have high blood pressure and clogged arteries. There are not necessarily any symptoms. You go out one day and think you can run and then end up with a heart attack.

Unless you're young, maybe in your twenties, and in perfect health, take the time and effort to get a complete cardiovascular checkup. This way the doctor gives you a clean bill of health and you can go out and start your program. We believe in starting very gradually.

Keep a Diary

The next thing you have to do is your diary. Why a diary? You need to write down how you feel each day. Notice what aches. See if you have sore ankles, sore knees or sore joints. Note whether you have muscle fatigue and which muscles are fatigued, if you have overall fatigue or in time if you have more energy.

Initially, you'll probably feel sore. You'll probably have sore ankles, thighs, calves and possibly some muscles in the back and shoulders. But gradually, as you start to use these muscle groups, and as your body starts to get trim, you'll start to actually have more energy. You'll bounce out of bed. You won't need that cup of coffee. You won't need anything sugary.

Also, keep in your diary the distance you work out in time, whether, it's ten minutes or a half hour. Eventually, you want to work up to where you're working out four days a week for forty-five minutes. That's for standard getting in shape, not competition.

In competition you're going to have to be going much higher. We'll go through what you have to do for top competition for a marathon. To train for a marathon, you have to prepare for six months to a year. You should only add one mile per month. That way you don't push your body. But now I'm just talking about the average person training.

Take Your Pulse

First, take your pulse before you exercise. You want to make sure you don't have a very racing heart. As you start to work out and as you start to breathe deeply take your pulse again. Never take your carotid artery pulse because that can affect the flow of blood to the brain. Then when you stop, take your pulse again immediately upon stopping.

What I'm interested in is how long does it take from the time you finish your exercise until you have a completely recovered pulse rate? As you exercise, that should get shorter and shorter and shorter. It goes from maybe ten minutes to eight minutes, five minutes, four minutes, three minutes. In three, four or five minutes after you finish working out your pulse is normal again. That shows you're really getting into shape.

STUART MCCLURE: About a year ago, I was about as toxic a person as you'd ever meet. I was a meat eater. I was sleeping about ten hours a day. Last May, I decided I wanted to give up red meat. Since then it's been a progression. I've given up all animal products, dairy, caffeine, cigarettes.

I started out very slowly because when I started, running was very difficult. Now I can run for an hour and a half without much problem. One of the main things I've noticed is that it has helped me get in touch with my body. I have never been in touch with my body before. It also just makes me feel good. I go out running and I feel happy.

PROPER FORM

Improper Form

GARY NULL: Proper form starts with having a proper posture. You want to keep the feet as close to the ground as possible, almost as if you're shuffling. Remember, the higher that knee comes off the ground, the greater the pressure per square inch when you reapply that foot back on the ground. You don't want to be bouncing. You don't want to kick your feet up in front of you or behind you. You don't want to be raising your shoulders up and down and up and down. You don't want to be swinging your arms from side to side sacheting. You also don't want to be craning your neck forward. That's how you end up straining yourself and causing musculoskeletal problems. Remember, running or jogging do not cause injuries. Improper form does.

Proper Form

Let's show the proper form and go over it step by step. First, find a comfortable stride, one that is right for your form.

Don't over stretch or under stretch.

There should be a slight rotation of the hip when you move. You want to keep the leg slightly bent at the knees. That takes the pressure off.

As you move forward the knee is slightly bent.

You'll land just in front of the heel. Make sure that it's just in front of the heel, not on the heel and not on the ball of the foot. Some people land on the ball of the foot and that causes pressure per square inch on the knee. Instead you want to land just in front of the heel and roll off the ball of the foot.

You'll want to make sure that the wrist bone is at the hip bone. The body should be as if you're taking a hankie out of the back pocket and putting it into the front pocket.

Remember, you don't run with your arms, you run with your legs. The arms are used for balance so you want a slight movement of the arms. Don't raise the arms up high. Don't swing them side to side. Don't bounce them up and down. This bouncing is improper form. Sacheting is improper form. Extensive motion will throw the body out. Remember, when you swing your arms, you're also swinging your back. That can affect the lower back.

You don't want to crane your neck. That causes a stretch upon all the muscles in your back and shoulders. Instead, the ear should stay level with the shoulder.

You should not be bent at the belly. When you bend at the belly you bring your chin down and it creates very low breathing. You want to keep a five degree angle. I mean that if you put your feet together and stand straight and lean forward, as you lean forward at the point where you're going to fall forward, that's the angle that your body should be at. Five degrees. Almost picture yourself having a string on your head pulling you up and forward. Breathe with the mouth open. Do deep diaphragmatic breathing. Inhale and exhale slowly and evenly. Do not just breathe with the nose. You cannot get enough oxygen with just the nose.

ELAINE PERRY: The race walking, I find, has given me a lot of confidence in my day-to-day life. I really never thought of myself as an athlete. I began with the race walking mainly because I wanted to keep my weight down and look better. As a result of joining the Natural Living Walking and Running Club and getting some really fine coaching from some of the members, I find that I am really gaining confidence. I am now racing.

JOAN ROLAND: I discovered power walking and it has radically altered my life. My outlook is totally different now. I don't think about the end. I am just in the present every moment in my life. I've gotten more energy and vitality and enthusiasm, everything that one could ask for.

FRANCO PANTONI: Hello everybody. I'm Franco Pantoni. Today we are here to learn how to walk and actually how to make a walk into a workout.

To begin with there are three kinds of walks. There's a health walk, there's a power walk and there's a race walk. I'll very briefly explain them. First, a health walk is nothing more than a brisk walk where you pump your heart up to 120 beats. The power walk, like the word says, is a forced march where you bend your arms and you power walk. It's a fast walk.

And then of course there's race walk which is a whole different ball game where we have to assume a certain technique. Race walking has two international rules. They are 1) foot must be on the ground at all times and 2) knee of the supporting leg has to be straightened momentarily as the body goes over it.

In order to race walk, the first thing that we have to assume is a straight posture. We have to imagine that there is an invisible wire holding us up from the spine to the head and assume a straight posture.

The second thing you want to do is to lean forward about four or five degrees, not more than that, to a point to where you feel you are tumbling forward. Once you have done that, the second thing you want to do is to bend your arms into a 90 degree angle. This is the proper alignment for it. You put one fist on top of the other. But remember, do not tighten your fist. If you tighten your first you will tense up your shoulders and your arms. You actually want to clench your fists about six inches from your chest. Drop your shoulders. Relax them and begin to swing in a natural motion.

The second move that you want to do once you assume that straight posture and lean forward--it will come naturally to you as you step forward--to land on your heel. I have a straight leg. At this point, my leg is functioning as a lever for my body. As I begin to push up with the back toe, my body propels forward.

I'm going to go over it just one more time. You assume 90 degree angle arms. Bend forward a little bit. As you step forward, land on your heel. Propel yourself forward with the back toe. Straighten your knee and go on to the other step.

When you do this kind of movement, the first thing you want to do is reach out with your heel. As you reach out with your heel swing your hip a little forward. This way, with your push off and the swinging of your hip, you will gain anywhere from three to four inches each stride you do. We're trying to find a formula that is effective and efficient.

Four times a week is the minimum that we should walk. What I would do from the very beginning is not worry about mileage or speed. I know that everyone is obsessed with that.

Also, go from back forward. Propel yourself forward. In front of you everything is dead.

One other thing also. Don't ever over stride. A lot of people make a very long stride thinking they may go faster. It is not so. The reason is, if you step too forward, you have to pull the weight of your body over. Therefore, you're fighting gravity. What you want to do is a stride with a rotation of your hip and most important is the push up of that toe. I can't emphasize hard enough how important it is. The more I push the further I can go.

The breathing point of it is also crucial. The best way to breathe when you are under stress, and to help you make it easier, is to relax and breathe in and let the breath go into your stomach. Does anybody want to try to race walk?

OSCAR TISCHER: In the course of the past two years I have retired. Almost didn't retire because I went to senior citizen's groups where I found so much hostility and so much anger. A lot of people, I thought, were sitting around waiting to die. I said, I can't retire and do that. I was going to retire and take care of myself and do things for other people.

So I did. I've become vegetarian. I've been working out. Then last year you got me to run the marathon. I did it for four hours and fifty-one minutes and that was the greatest day I've ever had in my life.

MORT JACOBSON: I've never had any particular health problems. I do know that my cholesterol level was not what it should be. Now my HDL is over 100. Apparently I'm in a good risk group. If I die tomorrow, at least I know I'm in good condition.

THE RIGHT STRETCH

Before You Exercise

DR. HOWARD ROBBINS: Hi, everyone. I'm Doctor Howard Robbins and I'd like to talk to you a little bit about stretching. Many experts feel that you shouldn't stretch before you run. Many people feel it's important that they do.

If you're going to stretch you have to warm your muscles up first. There are two basic ways to warm the muscles up gently before you stretch them. The first is to march in place just for two minutes. The second method is to get on your back and bicycle in the air for a few minutes.

Kiss the Knee Stretch

There are two basic stretches we can do when we're sitting on the ground. One is called kiss the knee which basically stretches the hamstrings, the muscles behind our thighs. It's performed by laying on your back, putting your hands behind your knee and pulling your knee to your chest and holding it there with constant pressure for twenty seconds. At the end of twenty seconds you let your leg all the way out and then repeat that again for another twenty seconds. It should be done three times per leg.

Belt Stretch

The second stretch that we can do sitting down is called the belt stretch. It's also been called the towel stretch or the string stretch. Sit up with your arms and back straight. Then with your foot relaxed, lean backwards. This lets you pull your foot with your body weight towards your upper body. At the end of twenty seconds, let your foot go. It should relax and turn to the starting point. Repeat this again three times per leg.

Anterior Leg Stretch

The third pre-exercise stretch is the anterior leg stretch. In this stretch, you grasp your ankle with the same hand and you pull your heel into your buttocks. Make certain that your thigh is out in front of the leg that's straight that's supporting your body.

The anterior leg stretch has you lifting your heel up into your buttock and holding it there for twenty seconds with the thigh being flexed out in front of the leg that's supporting you. Let the leg come straight out after twenty seconds and then repeat the stretch again. No more than three repetitions per leg.

After Exercising

After you exercise is when your muscles begin to tighten up. I know that's when you feel loosest but that's when stretching is really most important.

Now we want to do our powerful active stretches to stretch those muscle fibers back out to their normal physiologic length. There are several basic stretching exercises that we do.

Anterior Leg Stretch

First, the anterior leg stretch that we performed before is repeated again, only this time the thigh is kept even with the supporting leg's thigh. Grasp your heel and pull it into your buttock but now with both thighs even. Hold it for twenty seconds. Let the leg come straight down again and then we repeat it.

All post exercise stretching should be performed five repetitions at twenty seconds each repetition. That's only one minutes and forty seconds for each exercise.

Bent Over Stretch

The next stretch is for the hamstrings, the rear leg muscles. This stretch is called the bent over stretch. Place your hands on your waist and bend your knees. Begin to bend over with your head and back straight. When you're halfway bent over, thrust your buttocks upwards. This puts a stretch into the belly of the hamstring. Hold this position for twenty seconds. Then straighten up and repeat it.

Against the Wall Stretch

The next stretch is for your calf muscle. It's called against the wall stretch. You can use a tree, a wall, a fence, almost anything. This stretch is done by putting your hands face level or higher against the wall. Take a step back with your feet and legs still held shoulder width apart. Bend your front knee to a right angle. Your rear leg is perpendicular to the wall or fence and your heel must remain flat to the ground. Then lean into the stretch letting your forearms support you against the wall. Push away from the wall and squiggle your back foot back to get a little more stretch. Lean into the stretch again for the second repetition. Keep your back straight, your arms against the wall and your head straight. Front leg is always bent at ninety degrees. Push away and repeat the stretch again.

All post exercise stretches are twenty second stretches. Never bounce in a stretch. That's very important.

Superman Stretch

The last stretch I've nicknamed the superman stretch. In this stretch we use a park bench or a seat of a chair at home and the back of the chair as well. We put our foot up to different levels to stretch the muscles in the back of our leg in different places. In this stretch we pull our foot very forcefully towards our body. We put our body straight out like Superman going to fly and we lean slightly forward letting our fingertips rise up and hold that position. The more you pull your foot towards your body the stronger the stretch will be behind your leg. Make certain that your foot is pulled very strongly towards your body and that your hands are straight out in front of you.

Lean into the stretch and let your fingertips rise up. This keeps your back straight and prevents any back problem. As you'll learn, it is not necessary to bend over and curl your back to stretch your rear leg muscles.

All these stretches are done for twenty seconds and repeated five times per leg.

MAN: Power walking and changing my diet has helped me change my attitude towards living in general. Before that I think I was just waiting to die. I had no energy. I was really quite miserable. And now I look forward to getting up. I walk in the evenings because that's best for my schedule. At eleven o'clock at night--normally, I would be asleep by then--I'm going out for a walk.

WOMAN: When I look at the people who are power walking who are in their sixties or seventies, I do not want to be a decrepid old lady. I intend to be a person in health because I need the health to make a contribution in life and I don't want to be married to a whole table full of pills when I'm sixty, seventy or eighty years old. So I asked to be trained for competition. This has made a great difference in my attitude and in the way I feel and look, the way I see myself and the way I see others and I am grateful for it.

THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT

GARY NULL: The next thing I'd like to do is show you something about equipment. Equipment is simple. You need a good pair of shoes. Make sure you have two. Never put more than 700 or 800 miles on a shoe before you get a new heel. You want to make sure that you get what's called a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) wedge. Let me show you. If the heel of the shoe has is wide enough, when the heel hits the ground it will help keep the foot even. If you get a real narrow heel that you don't want, then you can turn in and pronate. It's that pronating that causes injury.

Ideally, when you strike the ground, energy should come up the outside of the path, outside of the thigh, and cross into the buttock muscle. But if you hit and you have weak ankles and your ankle turns out or your ankle turns in, then the energy comes in and is locked in the knee. When energy locks in the knee, that's when you end up with knee injuries.

So, if you have a wide box heel then when the heel strikes it keeps it firm. Again, don't let your heel wear down. That's dangerous. That's how you end up injured. So get yourself a good pair of running shoes.

The suits we are wearing are very light. What's nice is that you can wear these for about nine months a year. These are called Gore Tex. They breathe.

You do not want to wear cotton in the winter time. Cotton close to the body will cause the moisture to hold on to the skin. That causes chilling. You don't want synthetic materials in the summer time. She has a Gore Tex. This will wick off the water. That allows it to evaporate so it doesn't stay on your skin so you don't get chilled in cold weather. You want a Gore Tex outfit with nice Gore Tex tights to keep the legs nice and warm in the wintertime. You wear these for about six or seven months a year. In the summertime you want to wear cotton because you want the cotton to hold the moisture. The moisture in the warm weather cools you down.

You want a sock that doesn't bunch up on you. And, of course, you want some gloves. In the summertime you can wear a headband to keep the perspiration out of your eyes. So the equipment is very simple.

WOMAN: I've been running off and on for years and it has never made the difference that the power walking has in terms of muscles and the development especially for women. You'll feel it, believe me. The first time I went out for two miles I felt like I had two booster shots the next day. It really makes a big difference. It's weight lifting without the weights.

AVOIDING INJURY

HAROLD ROBBINS: Gary asked me to tell you why power walking is better than running. Well, it's absolutely true. First of all, there's no bouncing which does take place with almost every running step. Even if you bounce very little, the heel strike sends tremendous force into your legs and back and can lead to injuries.

The second is that one foot is always on the ground. You're always being supported in a stance phase of walking rather than totally off the ground which has a greater risk for injury again. Heel strike is more controlled on impact than a running heel strike is.

Also, every portion of the foot's movement is more controlled in a power walking step than in a running step which takes place faster than a power walking step takes time to accomplish. Therefore, we can prevent injuries by controlling the movements of the foot more exactly.

Now there are many different ways that we can try to prevent injuries while we power walk. The first is to get a proper fitting shoe. Keep in mind that foot imbalance is key and essential. If you have a foot imbalance you're likely to develop a foot, leg or back injury. Let's look for them before we begin a power walking program. Look for bunyan formation or hammer toe formation or calluses forming under the metatarsal heads or on the big toe. These are signs that your foot may have an imbalance. If you've had a past history of ankle sprains or other foot or leg injuries you may want to go and have yourself checked by a sports podiatrist. What we'll be looking for are imbalances in the structure of the foot, particularly in the ankle area. If the heel and the ankle are well aligned and allowed to move through normal ranges of motion as most people are able to do then the likelihood for foot and leg injuries are greatly diminished.

If you have a foot imbalance, the podiatrist can make a cast of your foot holding it in its ideal position. From this cast of your foot a duplicate of the bottom half of your foot is made. From this a modern foot orthotic device can be fabricated specifically for power walking. This device helps control the movement of the foot up, down, in and out to allow only normal ranges of motion to take place and thus allow the proper forces to be transmitted all the way up into the back. Keep in mind that shock absorbing insoles can be placed on top of these things of highly sophisticated materials to help prevent foot and leg injuries.

High quality proper fitting athletic socks are very important to prevent foot injuries. You want to make certain that you have something not only in good repair and condition but made of some of the new fibers that will actually wick perspiration away from the foot and keep the foot dryer thus preventing athlete's foot and other foot irritations while you're running. Most of these socks are reinforced in the ball of the foot area as well as in the heel area to give you added cushioning and protection. It's worth paying a little bit more for a much better sock. Keep in mind that socks should never be pinched or pulled tight on you. Nor should they be very loose or floppy on your feet.

All running shoes should be replaced for power walking after 750 miles. That is the maximum number of miles that you should put through the shoe. No matter how good the upper looks, replace it because the mid sole, the white shock absorbing cushioning materials will probably have worn away. That's where you can't see the wear and tear but that will show up in your body in terms of lack of pressure and shock absorption on each strike and toe off.

If you should get injured, this is exactly what you have to do to quickly overcome an injury and get back into power walking right away. For the first 48 hours you must use ice. That means taking a simple plastic sandwich bag with one of those zip locks. Throw in enough ice cubes just to cover the area or slightly bigger. And then apply the ice directly to the injured site. If it's too cold against your skin put a paper towel around the plastic bag and that will de-ice it a little for you. Keep the ice on for no more than ten minutes by your watch. Then off for ten minutes. This is the best physiologic effect and it won't cause any damage to skin or for people with impaired circulation. Ten minutes on, ten minutes off for an hour to an hour and a half or until the pain stops. This can be done all day long and all evening long for the first forty-eight hours. Following that, we only use ice when we're having pain.

Then we like to use heat. Hot, wet towels around an injured area will help draw out inflammation as the towel cools down. For people who may have had phlebitis or vein problems, you only want to use a warm, wet compress, never a hot one. If the heat makes it worse, use ice. If you're in doubt as to whether to use heat or ice, use ice. If you're in pain use ice. And for the first forty-eight hours after an injury, always use ice.

If you do y our stretching and strengthening exercises you'll functionally progress and gradually get back into race walking and power walking safely and effectively in just six to eight weeks.

I tried a lot of aerobic exercise, aerobic tapes. All I got really was a lot of different injuries. I did run for many years but I really didn't like it. About five minutes after I started out I was looking at my watch and seeing when it was over. Power walking and race walking are the first things I really love. I love to do it. I really think sometimes I could just go all day long. I like it.

CHANGES FOR YOUR HEALTH

DR. CHRISTOPHER CALAPAI: Hello. I'm Doctor Calapai. I'd like to talk to you for a moment about some of the physiological benefits that we all receive when we do race walking and power walking. I'd also like to spend a moment talking about lifestyle change and the importance of maximizing your lifestyle.

We can't expect to start race walking and to cure all our ills and to be able to come out with an optimal physical, mental and emotional status. We can't expect to power walk and continue smoking or drinking caffeine or having too much sugar in the diet. These things just don't balance out. We have to make sure that our diet is as good as humanly possible. We don't want the red meat in the diet because not only will the red meat increase our risk for cancer of the colon and cancer of the breast but we receive hormones when we take in too much meat. We need to take sugar out of the diet as well because sugar interferes with normal cardiovascular function.

There are numerous cardiovascular benefits from power walking and race walking. When we do this type of activity and we're using a lot of muscles in that one activity, that's getting a great deal of oxygen to our tissues. We're pumping more of our blood around to every tissue of our body delivering a lot of nutrients as well to those tissues. This is the best type of aerobic activity to do. When you compare that to something that only works the legs, like stair climbing or using the bicycle, you don't get anywhere near as much benefit. You want to deliver the nutrients to the tissues as frequently as possible and you want the muscles to receive, what we call, a good pump. When you trap a lot of blood into the muscle that will hold more oxygen and now you can get the benefits. That oxygen is used in many, many parts of the body.

We also will burn up a lot of sugar with this type of exercise. If we have too much sugar in the diet we may be over secreting insulin to control that sugar, to bring it down to a normal level. Over secretion of insulin combined with high sugar will start to cause plaque to line the blood vessel and all of the arteries. That causes heart disease.

If as well we keep producing the insulin over and over to control that excess sugar, after awhile the pancreas cannot keep up with that and we become type 2 diabetics. So we have a syndrome that involves hypoglycemia, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

When we power or race walk we burn up cholesterol and triglycerides which further reduce our risk for vascular problems and heart attacks and atherosclerosis. Exercise in this fashion also raises HDL which is high density lipoprotein, a very important lipoprotein, which helps to take the bad lipoprotein, the bad fat, and remove it from our circulation.

The musculoskeletal benefits that we receive from this type of activity include strengthening all our muscles, our tendons and our ligaments. As we age, it's expected that we're supposed to become a little slower, a little bit older, a little bit weaker and our coordination, our gait, our walking pattern changes. But this is something that shouldn't happen with age. There are a lot of individuals who power walk well into their seventies, eighties and nineties. They enjoy strength and stability of their arms and legs. They don't have the problems of falling over. They don't have the problems of not being able to do the daily activities that they would like to do. So this is of extreme importance when we talk about this.

Some of the most important nutrients to utilize when we're doing an activity, whether it's power walking or any activity at all, are antioxidants. These are substances that will stop free radicals from damaging tissues. A free radical is an atom that only has one electron in its outer orbit. It will steal an electron from a healthy tissue to neutralize it's charge. In doing so it oxidizes or damages that tissue, whether it's the heart, the blood vessel, the lung. Every tissue of the body is subject to this damage. Antioxidants, such as vitamin A, C, E and beta carotene stop the oxidation and do not let the free radicals damage tissues. So we want to have a proper amount of those things in the diet.We also want to consider chromium because chromium helps to modify sugar fluctuation. We'll get stamina and energy from that.

In summation, we have to take a comprehensive look at ourselves. We have to look at our diet, our health, our exercise and our lives. We have to take all the bad things out of our exposure and get rid of smoking, alcohol, sugar, minimize our cholesterol, maximize our diet by making sure that we have all the appropriate nutrients in the diet: vitamins A, C, E, beta carotene, B complex, chromium.

There are blood tests that we can do like the nutrascan that will tell us what our nutrient levels are. We need to tailor a diet specifically to each individual so that we get what we need. We also need to have the exercise, the power walking, in our lives on a daily basis. The more that we exercise, the more that we eat properly, the better our health will be. We can achieve optimal health and wellness.

WOMAN: Changing my diet, I find, has, first of all, given me a much higher level of energy than I've ever had. I find that I require less sleep. I find that I'm able to do so many more things with my life. I'm able to have more energy to do what I want to do. I just have a general, overall sense of well being that I didn't quite have before.

WOMAN: Before I became a vegetarian I ate lots of protein. I could hardly run a quarter of a mile. Now I'm a national champion.

MAN: Good nutrition can definitely put years back into your life.

GOOD NUTRITION

GARY NULL: When discussing changes in the American diet we're talking more than just changing the amount of meat and saturated fats, dairy products that we're consuming and sugars. We're also talking about including more organic fruits and vegetables. I'm in a popular health food store, Whole Foods, in New York City. These are strawberries but I can assure you, these strawberries are not the same as the strawberries that you've been eating. The one you've been eating are very heavily sprayed in all likelihood. Strawberries are regularly sprayed. That's unfortunate because they're so good. They have the beta carotene and the vitamin C. When you start eating right you're going to want to eat that which is going to become a part of your body. Live foods are those foods are those foods that haven't been overly processed, that are closer to their natural state.

Eat at least three to four servings of fresh fruit a day. I'm talking about a variety of fruits, not just apples and oranges. I'm talking about plums and prunes and apricots and fresh figs. Most people don't know what the inside of a fig looks like. Look at those juicy, beautiful orbs bursting with delightful flavor, rich in beta carotene and vitamin C. Try pineapple, kiwis and mangos. When we realize that almost thirty varieties of fruits are available and that the average American only eats two to three, then we've limited ourselves, so open up your diet. Go organic.

The same is true of vegetables. When is the last time you tried bok choy? Boy choy is in the Chinese cabbage family. It looks something like a celery with wider leaves but it tastes like lettuce. They use it in salads. They stir fry it. It's very rich in minerals. We need more of this. In fact, we need collard greens and broccoli. My ten best vegetables are broccoli, brussel sprouts, turnips, asparagus, cauliflower, carrots, garlic and celery and horseradish. By the way, horseradish is terrific for digestive problems. These are things the average American isn't eating enough of.

Here's what I would suggest. First go organic. Secondly have three to four servings of fruit, three to four servings of vegetables. Have starchy vegetables, low in calories, high in beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin A. Then make sure that you have a predominance of this either raw or steamed, not overcooked. Try to rotate them. Have more and more vegetables each day. In other words, if you're having broccoli on Monday then have cabbage on Tuesday. By the say, cabbage is one of nature's most perfect foods. For those of you who have stomach problems, ulcer problems, try cabbage. Cabbage juice is the ticket. Have cabbage at least twice a week. Red cabbage and white cabbage. There was a time when you went into a restaurant and you generally ordered meat and potatoes with a little salad of iceberg lettuce and tomato and some type of very high calorie salad dressing. Not anymore. Americans understand the importance of having variety. Now the salad bar is frequently one of the largest single things in a restaurant.

We're at a salad bar. This particular salad bar has over sixty different items, everything from those who like millet and grain salads with wild rice and lentils and split peas and exotic seasonings. We have a tabouli salad with bulgur wheat. We have broccoli, of course, and sprout salads. We have seaweed salads. That's something that's just now starting to show up. Seaweeds are rich in calcium and protein and, of course, the always ubiquitous sprouts now. Not just a couple of sprouts but mung bean sprouts, lentil sprouts and mustard sprouts.

We're seeing that people are asking for healthier foods and they're getting it. If you take this simple lesson, have at least two to three servings of grain a day. This is a complete protein. You don't need meat if you are eating beans and grains. By the way, olives are very good for you also. Olives are rich in minerals, especially calcium. This is why the Greeks, the French and the Italians have been so healthy for so long. This is the way they eat. If you look at their table at noon, this is the kind of spread you would have. And we haven't had this except in the last five years.

Let's recapitulate. Three to four servings of fruits. Three to four servings of vegetables. Two to three servings of grains. Two to three servings of beans a day. That way you're getting your protein, your complex carbohydrates, your fiber, about twenty grams a day. You're getting about fifty to sixty grams of protein. That's more than enough. Meat all the time gives you too much protein. It slows down digestion and creates, for a lot of people, toxemia in the intestines. You want vitality, you want energy, you want to feel light, you want to overcome all that fatigue and this type of eating does that. Eat light, eat at most two major meals and one very light meal. Dinner should be your small meal. A big salad and a soup is enough. Or stirred fried vegetables and a grain. That's enough. Don't eat a big meal for dinner. It's still going to be in your stomach when you go to bed.

Do you know that more people eat soy milk each day than cow's mild because most of the people in the world are allergic to dairy. They have gastrointestinal problems, gas, bloating and diarrhea, cramps. You don't have to have any of these digestive problems now when you can have dairy-free different cheeses and milk. By the way, now you go into any store, like a health food store, all of these are milk replacers. They taste like milk. You can use them in recipes in place of milk. Every single one of these are replacers for milk. What a great thing to have. And these are cheeses made with natural products like mozzarella and black jack and cheddar and all the soy cheeses. You can make a grilled cheese sandwich but make it with soy. It tastes like cheese but it isn't. Of course you can get the tofu products. If you like hamburgers, and a lot of people do, this is made from tofu. Tofu is made from soybeans. It already comes pre-made so you can heat it up and make it taste like anything you want. If you like bacon it can taste like bacon. If you like hamburger it can taste like hamburger. If you like luncheon meat and bologna it tastes like luncheon meat and bologna but it doesn't have all those chemicals. It's not bad for you.

No longer do we have to say to our kids, sorry, you can't have hamburgers, hot dogs, bacon and eggs. Now we can give them the taste, the aroma, all the good nutrition of healthy foods from grains that have been innovatively made and seasoned to taste like our favorite junk foods. It's nice. You can have it both ways now. You can have your junk food in flavor that is really healthy food in disguise. That's something happening in the nineties. So, the supermarket of the nineties is your health food store. Or a supermarket making their selection like a health food store.

A lot of us baby boomers grew up on either eggs or a cold cereal in the morning. Generally, it was Wheaties, Cheerios or one of those. That was fine. Today there are hundreds of varieties of cereals and they're getting healthier meaning they're getting rid of the sugar, the preservatives, the artificial chemicals, and they're making it more natural. A lot of people one to go one step more. They want cereal that has mineral processing. They don't even want cereals that have been flaked. You see, once you flake a cereal, you do have nutrition but its been reduced. Remember every step of processing of any food diminishes overall enzymes and nutritional value. For a lot of people that's very important. For old time people, mainly our grandmothers and parents and a lot of us, this is the best of all because this is the whole grain cereal. It has proteins, minerals and vitamins locked in, barley and corn grits and millet. Millet is one of the most popular grains in the world. It is an alkalizing grain. It's very quick cooking and quick tasting. Then of course you have oats and wheat berries and bulgur wheat. You have all these different natural hot grains. You add water and can get full nourishment and good quality protein.

You have your choice. You can either have flakes which are okay. Or you can have the whole granolas without sugar. Sweetened with fruit juice is fine. Or the best still, you can have the whole grains. Whatever you choose, make sure that you have a good hearty breakfast.

It's been called the poor man's protein. If you look at Spanish cultures, they eat rice and beans. They eat black eyed peas. This is what slaves ate. This is what our ancestors ate. This is what people today eat if they're smart. Isn't it interesting? The smart people ate by staying close to nature. This has fiber in it. It can store for a long period of time. It has no cholesterol, no saturated fat. It's loaded with vitamins and minerals. It's good for you.

To avoid gas from eating beans, simply soak the beans overnight and then cook them properly. By the way, put a little lemon juice into the beans which will also help prevent gas.

When you go into a store now you'll find quick cooking beans: green lentils, red lentils and split peas. There are over sixty varieties of beans that you can now select from. You should have at least two servings of beans a day, either cold as in a bean salad or hot in any variety of recipes.

Another healthy thing to add to your diet is pasta but not just the white flour pasta, whole grain pasta. If you go to Italy or France everybody eats pasta and they're all thin and trim. We look at pasta and think they need rich sauces when they don't. We can have them with garlic and proper seasonings. There are all kinds of pastas: semolina, whole wheat, dozens of different types of pasta. It's good for you.

Let's summarize. First, get off meat, dairy, sugar, white flour products. Eat to enliven. Let's eat foods that are rich in enzymes, rich in vitamins and minerals, complex carbohydrates, high in fiber. Let's have foods that are more alive. Let's have juices two to three times a day, sprouts which are bursting with energy and chlorophyll. Let's have sea vegetables like wakame, kombu, hijiki. They're rich in calcium, potassium, natural sodium, protein and manganese which is good for the heart and muscles.

Let's also stay away from deep fried foods. Let's use natural oils like canola oil, walnut oil, the omega three oils, walnut, almond and one of the best of all, virgin olive oil. Let's get away from white bleached oils, white products, sugar products. Have natural sweeteners. Of course, have two to four servings of vegetables a day, fruit, grains and beans. That's a diet.

You don't have to restrict calories, just restrict saturated fat. Get your fat percentage of the diet down to ten to fifteen percent. Exercise of course with power walking and you're going to feel and look great.

There you have it. You've learned form and style. You've learned technique. You've learned about nutrition, what you should put into your system. You've learned about deep breathing and what kind of exercise gear to put on. You've learned that you can do it in any kind of weather. You can do it anywhere in America at any age. It's a way of enhancing wellness. You've learned about nutrients that help your whole system.

Now it's up to you. Get out and enjoy this whole wonderful world. Bring your body back to what it was or should have been a long time ago. Make yourself as well as you can be. Maximize your human potential.