Zone Living Articles
Hydration - What You Need To Know
We often hear about the importance of hydration as the warm temperatures set in or after prolonged physical activity, but this is one topic that shouldn’t be seasonal. Approximately 55% of children and adolescents are inadequately hydrated1 and our sense of thirst declines with age. Compared to young adults, when older adults are deprived of water for a period of time, they are less likely to replenish that water loss, making them more susceptible to dehydration2. The good news is that the foods and beverages we eat and drink are an easy fix to keeping us hydrated all year long! The Benefits of Hydration Hydration is critical to ensure our body is functioning how it should and also plays a role in our energy levels and fatigue. Not being adequately hydrated can impact our body in numerous ways2. Athletic Performance: Water helps to regulate our body temperature and sweating is the body’s way to stay cool by releasing heat through sweat. An athlete can lose anywhere from 6-10% of body weight through sweat loss, making rehydration post-workout critical. Cognitive Performance: Mild dehydration can lead to disruptions in our ability to think clearly and our mood. In older adults lack of hydration can be a factor in confusion. Kidneys: Adequate hydration ensures our kidneys, an important regulator of water balance, blood pressure and waste disposal, can filter waste from the blood to be excreted in the urine. Heart: Water balance in the body is tightly linked to our total blood volume, blood pressure, and heart rate, so any change in hydration status can impact these. Headaches: Water deprivation can lead to the development of headaches and may be a potential trigger for migraines. Skin: Water is often attributed to giving skin a youthful appearance through diminishing fine lines and wrinkles and giving it that moisturized look. While we may be hard pressed to find the science to back these claims, the skin does act as a barrier to help keep moisture in the body. How Much Do You Need Most of us have heard that we should aim for eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day (about eight cups of water) and the reality is that if we hit those goals we’d probably be doing a pretty good job at staying hydrated. However, an even better marker would be the color of your urine. Ideally, if you are adequately hydrated, then the color of your urine should be a very pale yellow. Since approximately 80% of our fluid intake comes from physically drinking water and other beverages, these would be your primary sources for hydration. This includes caffeinated beverages too, but they can also act as diuretics so you would need to consume even more water to ensure adequate hydration. Although no specific recommendation is set with regards to water alone, the fluid we take in per day from food and beverages should total approximately 11 cups per day for women and 16 cups for men3. High-moisture foods do contribute to overall hydration, but water itself remains the best way to keep our hydration status in check: it’s calorie free, preservative free, and contains no artificial sweeteners. Tips For Staying Hydrated Be Choosy: Pick beverages like water, milk or caffeine-free coffee or unsweetened tea (tried to avoid the sweeteners or creamers which can stack up the calories and pounds). Bring It With You: We don’t always have the luxury of a drive-through option. Fill a water bottle at the start of each day and no matter how busy the day gets you’ll always have it with you. Spice It Up: If plain water isn’t for you, try lemon, lime, berries, or cucumber or consider making these into ice cubes to keep your beverage cold and flavorful. Go Bubbly: Cutting back on soda can be tough, try sparkling water as an option to get the fizz without the calories. Make A Goal: Aim to finish a certain number of glasses of water before lunch or dinner or shoot to have a full glass at each meal. Set a Timer: Sometimes we need a reminder to drink so set a timer or make a calendar reminder to get you to drink Eat Your Water: Don’t forget your foods count too! Get your water through high moisture foods like fruits and vegetables. 14 Zone Favorable Foods that Help to Reach Your Hydration Goals Not a huge fan of drinking water, the foods you eat can help too! Here are 14 Zone Favorable fruits and vegetables that have a high water content to help you reach your goals4. Besides being good sources of water, these foods are ideally suited for the Zone Diet since they have a very low glycemic index as well as being rich in fermentable fibers and high in polyphenols. {{cta('daffa570-1055-4766-af51-e09d66a17e47')}}
The Importance of Breakfast
We’ve heard it time and time again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but is that true? One of the biggest benefits to consuming breakfast is to replenish energy stores and to stabilize hormones. After a full night’s sleep our blood sugar level is low and by early morning our liver glycogen stores have been depleted in an effort to maintain blood glucose throughout the night. Once energy stores are exhausted, blood glucose and insulin levels begin to drop and as a result the stress hormone cortisol is released. Cortisol levels naturally rise in the morning, but it's release signals the body to begin breaking down muscle for energy. This is why it’s critical to eat an appropriate breakfast to restore blood sugar levels and replenish glycogen. By skipping breakfast cortisol levels stay elevated until the next meal resulting in the increased breakdown of muscle for energy. Why a Zone BreakfastThe Zone is based on keeping your insulin levels in a zone that is not too high and not too low. This will stabilize blood sugar and prevent the continued breakdown of muscle for energy. Eating a Zone breakfast can help keep your insulin levels stable, provide the necessary protein to prevent hunger and replenish the levels of liver glycogen. It is important that the breaking down (catabolism) that happens overnight is balanced with the building up in the morning (anabolism). It is this balance that makes breakfast important for starting your day out right hormonally and sets the stage for the other benefits that come with eating breakfast such as improved alertness and productivity, increased cognition and memory, satiety, and weight control.Zone Breakfast vs. Traditional BreakfastThose who eat breakfast regularly have been shown to have higher intakes of vitamins and minerals and a more well-rounded diet. We always recommend eating a Zone breakfast within one hour of waking and having one with the right balance of lean protein, low-glycemic carbohydrates and a dash of monounsaturated fat. By keeping insulin levels balanced, Zone meals are the easiest way to keep your sugar cravings under control during the day. Doing so minimizes the need to constantly look for quick fixes when your energy levels start to plummet. Breakfast SwapsWhen looking for a Zone breakfast aim for one that is under 400 calories, with less than 12 grams of fat, 25 grams of protein and about 35 grams of net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fiber). Need an easy breakfast idea? Swap out your current breakfast for a ZoneRx Shake instead. Where most grab and go breakfasts fall short on protein, are high in carbs and added sugar, and can be high in fat, ZoneRx shakes have the precise balance you need to replenish your body coming off an overnight fast and to power you through to lunch. See how it compares. {{cta('a51aeeb3-c8ab-4c9a-9217-1fe34bd6a84f')}}
What to Eat Before a Workout or After
Having a pre or post workout snack doesn’t have to negate everything you’ve burned off during the course of your activity. In fact, having the right mix of fuels in your body allows you reap the best results from your workout. A pre-workout snack can give you the energy you need to power through, while eating immediately after helps to replenish muscle glycogen and promote greater recovery. We recommended consuming a Zone snack 30-45 minutes before a workout and having another within 15 to 30 minutes after. When choosing a snack, all you need is about a 100 calorie Zone snack balanced in protein and carbohydrate and a little fat. The combination of protein and carbohydrate prior to working out will help to minimize muscle damage and maintain blood glucose levels which naturally fall during a workout. Fueling post-workout helps to replenish muscle glycogen and initiate muscle repair. So what might this combination look like? Pre-Post Workout Snack Ideas Greek Yogurt, Almonds, Blueberries This combination has the right blend of protein, fat and carbohydrate, plus its light to avoid that full or bloated feeling prior to or after exercise. Greek yogurt packs a protein punch with just a 1/4 cup having 6 grams of protein. Couple this with blueberries which are rich in polyphenols to help combat the stress from your workout and some almonds to keep your energy going longer. Apple with Cheese This snack is a convenient one to have on hand and if you forgot to pack your snack and are headed to workout, you can often find this combination in most convenient stores. Cottage Cheese, Almonds, Fruit Cottage cheese is rich in leucine, an amino acid that helps with protein synthesis, making this a great recovery snack. Eggs with Hummus or Guacamole If you aren’t a huge breakfast eater and tend to work out in the mornings this is something you can make ahead on the weekends and grab before your morning workout. Simply scoop out the yolk inside in a hardboiled egg, discard, and replace with guacamole or hummus for a nutritious snack that won’t leave you feeling too full. ZoneRx Bar There is nothing more convenient or portable than a ZoneRx bar. Easy to eat on the go and to have tucked in your workout bag when you’re ready. Simply have half a bar before you workout and the other half immediately after and you’ve hit all your pre and post workout needs. ZoneRx Shakes Move over chocolate milk and welcome ZoneRx shakes. For a long-time chocolate milk has been touted as one of the best recovery drinks because of its mix of protein and carbohydrate. Unfortunately too many carbohydrates in our snack choices can actually impede growth hormone from being released post-exercise due to high levels of insulin. Instead reach for a ZoneRx Shake. When our workouts fall before a main meal, ZoneRx Shakes make for a great post-recovery meal replacement. They have the right mix of everything you need to keep blood sugar levels balanced and are enriched with polyphenols to help combat any post-workout stress. If you don’t want a full meal replacement but still want something substantial, simply use half the amount of powder and milk for a great post-recovery snack. For more pre and post workout ideas check out our recipe section to search through hundreds of perfectly Zoned meals. {{cta('a9e96fff-3523-4d72-b761-29f9ef2a1279')}}
Dr. Barry Sears Answers Your Questions on Omega-3 Fish Oil
Dr. Sears answers some of the top questions we receive about fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids and what makes OmegaRx 2 unique. What are EPA and DHA?EPA is an abbreviation for the omega-3 fatty acid Eicosapentaenoic Acid. DHA is short for Docosahexaenoic Acid. The anti-inflammatory properties of fish and fish oil are mainly due to these two omega-3 fatty acids. The benefit of EPA and DHA comes from reducing cellular inflammation by inhibiting the formation of inflammatory hormones (e.g. eicosanoids) derived from the omega-6 fat, Arachidonic Acid (AA). However, their greatest benefits come from the generation of pro-resolution hormones (i.e. resolvins) that turn off the inflammatory process. If someone considers themselves healthy, why would they need to take omega-3 fatty acids?Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids meaning they must be supplied in our diets. They are the building blocks for hormones that resolve existing inflammation. Unresolved inflammation is the primary reason we gain weight, develop chronic disease, and age at a faster rate. The typical American diet is very low in omega-3 fatty acids and rich in omega-6 fatty acids (the building blocks for pro-inflammatory hormones). This is why you need a high concentration of purified omega-3 fatty acids to make a difference in addition to lowering the levels of omega-6 fatty acids in the diet. Why is fish oil superior to krill oil, flaxseed or other omega-3 products on the market?Fish oil is made by heating fish to release the stored fats. From this crude fish oil, the omega-3 fatty acids can be further refined/purified into omega-3 concentrates. Krill oil is actually made of small shrimp that have been harvested and extracted using harsh chemicals (hexane and acetone). Furthermore, the omega-3 fatty acid content in krill oil is much lower than in omega-3 concentrates derived from fish oil. Flax seed oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Although ALA is an omega-3 fatty acid, it has no health benefits unless converted into EPA and DHA. This conversion is very inefficient (about 1-10%) so you would have to consume large quantities to get the same benefits of a much smaller amount of omega-fatty acid concentrates. What is it about OmegaRx2 that makes it different from other brands?The answer is purity and potency. OmegaRx 2 is highly purified to remove as many PCBs as possible and our standards are eighteen times more rigid than the industry standards. In addition, Zone Labs publishes the purity data for every lot of OmegaRx 2 on our website to give our customers total transparency. All omega-3 fatty acids are prone to oxidation which is why we publish the levels of stability (defined by the TOTOX level or rancidity in layman terms) on every lot of OmegaRx2 as well. Our post production levels of rancidity are among the lowest on the market. Finally, the concentration of OmegaRx 2 is among the highest concentration of any non-prescription omega-3 fatty acid product on the market. How much fish oil do you recommend people take?I recommend taking a daily minimum of 3 grams of EPA and DHA. That said, we use our Cellular Inflammation test to determine the ideal amount an individual requires. This test looks at the ratio of two key fatty acids in the blood: Arachidonic Acid (AA), an omega-6 fatty acid which is the building block for pro-inflammatory hormones, and EPA which is the building block for pro-resolution hormones. The AA/EPA ratio or Cellular inflammation Score will tell you with the most precision how much you need to take on a daily basis to optimize your overall wellness. It has been demonstrated that decreasing the AA/EPA ratio is strongly associated with a longer life. If my cellular inflammation score is ideal, do I need the heightened concentration? If your Cellular Inflammation Score is between 1.5 to 3 you are in the ideal range to promote future wellness. The higher the Cellular Inflammation Score, the more inflamed you are. The average American has a Cellular Inflammation Score of 20. Resolution of inflammation is key to maintaining wellness, and this can only be achieved with a lower score. It is possible to achieve an ideal AA/ EPA ratio or Cellular Inflammation Score within 30 days with the correct dosage of OmegaRx 2. When will people start seeing the benefits after they begin to supplement and what will they be?I generally tell people that it takes about 30 days to truly see the impact of supplementation in the blood, but it's only a matter of days that their benefits subside once you stop taking them. This means you have to be consistent with your intake of purified fish oils and take it daily. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to help support a healthy heart, brain function, behavior and mood regulation, cellular rejuvenation, athletic performance and recovery, and improved vision. Their benefits are due to their role in resolving excess cellular inflammation. Do you have tips for how to take it? Most people do just fine taking our recommended dose of 4 capsules or 1 teaspoon of OmegaRx 2 daily. I always suggest taking it with food and if you want to split up your dose between morning and night to see how you do that is fine too. How long do you have to take it?For a lifetime if you want to maintain wellness. Once you stop taking omega-3 fatty acids your levels of omega-3s will soon return to baseline within a few days. What are the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids across the lifespan? Fish oil or omega-3 fatty acids are critical across the lifespan. This is why they are essential nutrients. It starts in the womb as they support brain development in utero in addition to minimizing post-partum depression for the mother. We now know that the dietary and metabolic environment the fetus is exposed to in the womb can echo through the rest of his or her so it’s critical to have good nutrition and adequate levels of omega-3s throughout pregnancy and after. The rise in conditions such as autism, ADHD, diabetes and heart disease in early childhood and young adulthood may have a connection with the high levels of omega-6 fatty acids in our diet and low amounts of omega-3s. I strongly believe that chronic conditions associated with aging such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia start with the failure to resolve inflammation so by getting adequate levels of omega-3s early on you can help to promote a lifetime of wellness. {{cta('70a4b644-a93c-4f8b-83ec-5be1500ed236')}}