Wellness Goals for Optimal Health
 
Have you pledged to yourself to live your best life this year? There are a few steps you can take to ensure you achieve optimal health this year. I have outlined five key lifestyle areas including nutrition, diet, physical activity, cognition and sleep that combined together can propel you into the healthiest version of you!

1

Diet: Minimize simple sugars: We all love simple sugars, technically mono- and disaccharides. These are glucose, fructose, sucrose, and several others, found in abundance in many foods under various pseudonyms. They are no friend to losing weight because they are readily converted to fat. They are no friend for sugar management because they can rapidly elevate blood sugar, which is terrible for diabetics, and in non-diabetics, results in feelings of low energy during blood sugar swings. Simple sugars are readily converted to body (adipose fat).
 
LifeSenseProducts MCT oil, MCT oil powder, and BHB provide about twice the energy of sugars and do not require insulin for uptake into tissues. Not requiring insulin is important as we age, because tissues such as the brain have diminished ability to take up sugar (the brain’s number one fuel source) as we age.
 
In addition to providing twice the caloric density as simple sugars, the LifeSense products increase beneficial blood ketone bodies which have various physiological benefits in the body besides serving as an energy source. The generated ketone bodies from MCTs, and the exogenous ketone bodies in the case of LifeSense Products BHB Salts, serve to curb appetite and satiety (amount of food consumed at subsequent meals), so the overall affect is to decrease caloric intake relative to simple sugars.

2

Enjoy a Keto/Low Carb lifestyle, but without the stress and extreme regimentation of a traditional ketogenic diet: The jury is out. Low Carb, Keto-friendly diets are healthy for us, and are a major trend in the USA and soon globally. This is not just a fad, but a new lifestyle dogma. Humans do not have an obligate requirement to consumer sugars, and evolutionarily, likely consumed high healthy fat rich, low carb diets. In modern society, it is very challenging to consume a traditional ketogenic diet (90% of calories as fat), or even a newer fanged ketogenic diet with 75% of energy from fat, 20% from protein, and 5% of carbs.
 
I am still advocating consumption of low carb, lower glycemic index carbs, but it is very important for adherence/stickability to low carb regimens, to not limit carbs too severely.
 
The consumed carbs can be part of alternating meals in the same day. Or, it is feasible to have days where carbs are consumed in more abundance, and the individual can return to a lower carb regimen the next day without need to start the metabolic adaption process all over.

3

Exercise Smarter: For competitive athletes, simple sugars are a great energy source, providing rapid energy for our exercised tissues. However, amongst us weekend warriors, too much simple sugars, can result in sluggish athletic performance, and even gaining weight. MCTs and exogenous ketone body salts, provide for more sustained energy than simple sugars and carbs and this is particularly important for endurance sports like cycling. Even in non-endurance sports like gymnasts and karate athletes, studies showed consumption of MCT oils did not diminish athletic performance; but, allowed the athletes to decrease their fat mass. Due to digestive tolerance, some trainers will recommend MCT oils be consumed before and after sports to help with post-workout recovery.
 
It is also recognized that loss of concentration and alertness is a major issue in athletes, particularly as they push their physical limits. In a recent study, MCT oils were shown to improve cognitive responses in exercised athletes.

4

Improve Cognition for both yourself and your furry companion: As the population ages globally, and perhaps also due to environmental changes, there is increased incidence of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, ALS,epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes if uncontrolled. MCTs, and C8 MCT oils and powders, such as that from LifeSense, have been published to improve cognition in Alzheimer’s (such as paragraph recall). Moreover, MCT oils have been shown to improve cognitive responses in healthy aged cognitively-normal populations; and theoretically could be of benefit to those with less severe situations such as mild cognitive impairment, which is common in aging. In dogs, MCTs have been shown to improve “altertness” and who does not want a more alert canine companion? For this reason, LifeSense is the first and only company in the world to have C8 MCTs oils for dogs, in a bottle with special delivery. Our BHBs may also improve mood and cognitive responses, but the evidence is not solid. Importantly, BHBs promote a feeling of being able to super multi-task (increased concentration) based on many testimonials from our large customer base. In today’s fast paced world, the ability to effectively multi-task is essential.

5

Sleep better: The lack of sleep in the human population is becoming epidemic. Recent studies show that at least 50% of teenagers, partly due to social media habits, do not sleep nearly long enough. The elderly lose sleep due to loss of melatonin and medications are known to not sleep enough. University students as a result of ingesting sugary, caffeinated drinks and tablets. Last, based on testimonials, our BHBs provide rapid energy and a feeling of sharpness, even when sleep is lacking. Say after a night of partying, stress-induced sleep loss, or jet lag.