Nutrition, Level 2, Weeks 1 & 2

Goals

• Incorporate multivitamins and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Lower your red meat consumption

Making Use of Multivitamins

I am a big believer in taking a daily multivitamin. If taken in the way that it was designed, it is a great supplement to a healthy lifestyle.

While it is not a replacement for a healthy lifestyle, it does help you make sure that you are getting enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients to adequately repair your muscles after exercising, and to keep your bones strong and your body functioning at optimal level.

A good multivitamin is also full of antioxidants which will reduce inflammation. Reducing inflammation will reduce pain and irritation, decrease injuries, and will slow down the aging process.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids also reduce inflammation, and they keep our heart healthy. Most of us eat foods that are high in omega-6-fatty acids and not enough omega-3-fatty acids.

Omega-6-fatty acids are found in processed grains and foods. Omega-3-fatty acids are found in fatty fishes, and some grains and seeds such as chia seeds and flax seeds.

Some people will take flax seeds for their daily dose of omega-3-fatty acids. Unfortunately you’d have to take 20 tablespoons of flax seeds to get the same amount of omega-3-fatty acids that are in 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil.

Anything we can do to reduce our inflammation will reduce our pain and achiness, and ultimately slow down the aging process. And multi-vitamins and omega-3-fatty acids both will reduce your inflammation.

Cut Back on Red Meat the Right Way

Decreasing your consumption of red meat to no more than once per week will also reduce your inflammation.

I’m not saying to go vegan or vegetarian. But we all know that we can’t eat a steak a day and still be healthy.

Try to make sure that the meat you eat comes from a cow that was raised free range, and fed on an organic diet. Also be sure that the animal was antibiotic and hormone free.

When the animal is injected with antibiotics and hormones, we will absorb some of those chemicals when we eat that animal. This can wreak havoc with our hormonal levels and affect our resistance to antibiotics when we get sick.

Eating meat from a free range, hormone and antibiotic free cow can be part of a healthy lifestyle, if eaten in moderation.

No more than once per week.

There are many nutritionists who would argue that eating red meat even once a week is too much. And they are correct.

But for our purposes, eating it no more than once per week is appropriate.
I hope you have a pain free day.