The Pain and Agony of Aging Digestion

Have you ever been awaken in the middle of the night with heartburn or acid reflux?  If you have, you know how uncomfortable it can be.  It happened to me recently and I was actually quite scared because it was so painful in the center of my chest I thought at the young age of 50, I might be having a heart attack!  I survived the incident and realized in the morning when I was awake that it was only acid reflux and gave myself a reprimand for not having had my apple cider vinegar (ACV) before I went to bed.  I have noticed as I have aged I do not digest certain foods very well and that by drinking ACV before I go to sleep I no longer experience heartburn.

Quite by accident, I saw a magazine with an article on digestion and stomach acid.  I read in the September/October 2012 Well Being Journal, “Proper Digestion, Stomach Acid, and Acid-Suppressing Drugs”.  The bottom line is that heartburn is caused by too little stomach acid (HCI) not by too much.  Well, this is news.  The article continued to explain that in addition to heartburn and ulcers, a wide variety of symptoms and conditions are associated with low production of stomach acid, including but not limited to: constipation and diarrhea,; gas and/or belching; bloating, sense of excess fullness, and/or sleepiness after meals, nausea from eating fatty foods; candida overgrowth and other gut flora imbalances, including parasites; fatigue; food allergies and sensitivities; frequent infections; nutrient deficiencies, especially B12, folate, iron, calcium, and zinc; general malnutrition and poor nutrient absorption; weak or brittle fingernails, liver toxicity; and depression and anxiety.  Wow!  A lot of health concerns can be avoided by having the right amount of stomach acid to properly digest your food! 

HCI production lowers as we age to how do you prevent having low stomach acid?  Avoid eating when upset or distracted by other activities.  Chew your food well.  As a general rule, avoid drinking more than half a cup of water within 30 minutes before or 2 hours after eating a meal.  Add a little lemon or lime juice or raw apple cider vinegar in a small amount of water before eating to improve digestion by stimulating acid and bile production.  You can also take HCI supplements or eat foods that normalize acid production.  To read the entire article on how proper digestion works and what happens when things go wrong, see the September/October 2012 issue of the Well Being Journal at or email me (julie@anuyoubyjulie.net) to receive a copy of the article.

Health Tip:  Antacids Among Most Prescribed Drugs In The World– They Can Actually Aggravate Your Heartburn So Go Natural

When experiencing heartburn a glass of warm water with baking soda will naturally ease the pain!  Unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is a natural way to prevent heartburn with added health benefits. Here is my blog that featured a article on the benefits of ACV.  Read it to enjoy the many benefits to your health and anti-aging program.

7 Ideas of Time Management for Anti-Aging....No Excuses!

I know what some of you are thinking... "I have no time to do all the steps for anti-aging" or  "Who has time for all those steps?"

Well here are some easy ideas to multitask those beauty steps. Try one, try them all, and please feel free to let us know your beauty multitasking genius ideas.

1. Do your Mud Mask while doing one of the following:

• vacuuming
• shaving your legs
• folding laundry
• taking a bath
• picking up the house

2. Soak your feet while doing a clay mask/hydrating mask/mud mask/polishing peel

3. Use your Body Brush (for exfoliation) while waiting for the shower to heat up.

4. Do a Polishing Peel while flossing (the peel doesn't harden like the other masks)

5. While soaking your feet, put the hydating mask on your hands with the cloth gloves.

6. Check your email while waiting for TruFace Peals to soak in before using your moisturizer.

7. Use your Galvanic while talking on the phone (speaker on) or while picking up the house (you only really need one hand) or, my favorite, while watching a webinar.

For more ideas for your health and beauty, please "like" me on facebook!

4 Things to Look For In A Certified Personal Trainer

It seems that everyone has or is thinking about getting one... a personal trainer.  Now, I've been working with a Certified Personal Trainer for the last 7 years because a) I live with a chronic disease so I need to stay strong, b) I'm aging so I don't want to get hurt and c) I want to look and feel good for as long as possible.   I have to share the highlights of article my Certified Personal Trainer just had published.  It gives you four easy guidelines to help you select a personal trainer for the first time or choose a new one.   I hope you find these guidelines helpful for yourself or someone you care about.

So, thank you to my Certified Personal Trainer, Robert Linkul MS NSCA-CPT *D CSCS *D for my personal strength, your dedication to excellence and for sharing your information about personal training and fitness. 

If you are looking for a Certified Personal Trainer with a master's in Fitness you have about a 500/15,000 chance of finding one. If you want to be trained by the best with the best education, Robert has some tips for you in finding your partner in your fitness.

1. Education - The Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) should have earned a fitness based educational background including a degree in one of the following: kinesiology, exercise science, physical education, or strength and conditioning.

2. Certification- Ensure that your CPT is certified at all times by an NCCA accredited organization. This means your trainer must take a standardized number of continued education hours every year. Those certifying organizations include:

• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
• American Council on Exercise (ACE) 
• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
• National Federation of Personal Trainers (NFPT)

3. Assessment - It is so important that your CPT performs a full interview and assessment including body fat, grip strength, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, body measurements, lung capacity, pulse, etc. This assessment should also include a review of family history and a physical activity readiness questionnaire.

4. Career vs. Job - You want your CPT to be career minded, motivated, and not simply considering you as another obligatory job.

Everyone is different and I think if you are enjoying the process and feeling better, you have a good person helping you become more healthy!

Tips by Robert Linkul MS NSCA-CPT*D CSCS*D
2012 National Strength & Conditioning Association's Personal Trainer of the Year

Robertlinkul@gmail.com

For more information read Robert's book - "Confessions Of A Certified Personal Trainer- Volume 1 The Fitness Revolution - Educating you on the right way to exercise", in soft cover and Kindle.

Fall Project: Pumpkin Art!

In the fall, everyone schedule is so busy with school activities, sports and events so its tough to find time to decorate and have fun with holidays. Here is our solution to Halloween pumpkins without the mess and time commitment. Due to the popular response to our Perfect Summer Banner, we thought when we saw on Pinterest all the fun and adorable pumpkins we just had to have a fun craft day and share with you our fun.

Julie decided to go with the "Pumpkins in Costumes" idea. After going through her costumes we have a Bandido, classic Witch, and Sheriff. :)

 Julie found these FANTASTIC character mustaches to aid in our pumpkins. Check out her awesome sharpie skills.

 We decided a stick found in the yard would be the perfect EVIL looking nose. The feathers just make this witch complete.

 Finding the sombrero led to this Bandido. Complete with gold earrings and tooth. (Don't you just love the mustache?)

The Sheriff hat and the "hogen" stache' led to this guy. Hopefully he can keep the Bandido at bay. ;)

Joy's decided to go for more the decorative route. She LOVED the pinterest projects and just had to try a few different methods for her pumpkins.

 Joy started by straying some of hers with Copper and Gold metallic stray. 

 Joy thought that black glitter fit really well with the copper and it turned out great! Stray adhesive worked really well - how Halloween!

 This tiny pumpkin seemed perfect when we found the glitter glue! So simple and easy and it added so much to this small pumpkin.

 Joy loved this gray pumpkin and wanted to showcase part of it. We found a wonderful way to finish this pumpkin (see below for the finishing touches).

 Who doesn't love a good decoupage. Joy found the leopard tissue paper and couldn't wait to use it. Use a 50/50 split of Elmer's glue and water. Paint on pumpkin first. Press paper down and paint over it again.  Below is all of Joy's finished pumpkins.

                              Group Shot of our pumpkins! Have a Happy Halloween Everyone!

The Potato Test: The Results of our Serum Test

We decided to do a little home experiment to see how a basic serum - one for skin at any age - helps your face fight off free radicals - the agers of our skin!

 After 15 minutes the left side (with no serum) is showing its exposure to air.

Closer view of the 15 minute no coverage side of our Russet potato.

Below are the potato halves after 1 hour of air exposure. See how the side with the fluid is still bright, and almost unaffected, while the side without is noticeably showing discoloration.   

To the Right, a closer look at the 1 hr half. Below, a closer look at the 1 hr half.

                              Here is the 2 hour look at these halves. What a dramatic difference!

And our last set of pictures at a 4 FULL HOURS!

 Above, hardly affected in its 4 hours with the serum protecting it by scavenging free radicals so there is less oxidation on the treated half. Below, umm...a bit gross with the discolorations and graying of this untreated half.

This is the side by side view of the 4 hours of exposure. So here is what was going on in these 4 hours. As the untreated half of the potato is exposed to the air, it starts to oxidize. We use Celltrex Ultra Recovery Fluid because of its powerful antioxidant hydroxytyrosol. Our skin oxidizes in a similar way in response to free radicals - causing many of the common things to do with skin-aging free radical damage.

Cellular Oxidation is a source of skin aging. Research has shown that the nutrients, especially hydroxytyrosol, found in extra virgin olive oil can be effective in relieving oxidative stress on cells.

It is my opinion, this is the prefect start of the anti-aging process. Starting in your 20s with something that can protect the skin from oxidation and free radicals can be the perfect way to prevent or prolong the aging process that seems to be inevitable for us all! We have more powerful serums for the more mature skins.

Health Tip: Three Ways To Be Skin Savvy For Glowing, Beautiful Skin At Any Age

One of the most important things you can do for the health of your skin is read the ingredients on any products before you buy them.   Your skin absorbs everything it comes into contact with so make sure the skin care products you buy will promote an ageless complexion.    

1.  At any age it is wise to add a serum that combats environmental toxins as well as provide key nutrients to combat any damage that you may or may not see for a youthful glow at every age.  

2.  Don’t think if you purchase the most expensive products you are guaranteed to get the best results either.   

3. Get samples or ask for a demonstration and evaluate the results after at least 24 hours.