It's a Team's Life
Eating for Quality of Life
After my blog on 20 Top Things not to eat and why there were a variety of comments. One of the comments and a reply really got my attention.
This is a portion of one of the comments a poster made:
You know, people are doing all this to live longer. What's the point of living? Moderation is one of TWO keys, exercise being the other. Of the two, exercise is the more important. You can eat anything you like, as much as you like, if you work it all off.
Here is the reply from another poster:
Eating a healthy nutritious diet is not about living longer. Medical science has no proof of that hypothesis. It is about improving the quality of life until you do eventually pass on.
Exercise burns calories. It does not burn off any of the other molecules that you take in from harmful foods.
Reading those comments started me thinking of many conversations I have had with others about food and also what I have witnessed.
Examples:
Mother - adult diabetes and had multiple amputations before dying of a heart attack.
Father - Stroke that left his right side paralyzed, spent two years in nursing home before choking on food and passing away.
Grandfather - enjoyed quality of life before on a fishing trip, had a massive heart attack and passed away.
I cannot predict our future but what I can do now is try to influence our future by paying attention to what we eat and how I prepare what we eat. There is a lot written about this subject and I continue to learn more about nutrition. Some days I feel that the more I learn the less I know...
Here is another list that I found fascinating about foods to make you feel better:
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/food-and-mood-best-foods-make-you-feel-better
Down in the dumps or as article says - "Feeling lower then a snakes belly" we usually reach for a piece of chocolate. Their suggestion is to have a miracle meal: a low-fat, low protein, high carbohydrate snack. Toasted English Muffin with a dollop of blueberry jam.
Why - High-carbohydrate food isn’t bogged down by the presence of protein or fat, they allow an amino acid called tryptophan to flood your brain, where it morphs into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that boosts mood and curbs food cravings (such as chocolate cravings)
When You're Sleepy -
not getting enough sleep due
to insomnia.
Cut out caffeine, lighten
up on dinner, skip the nightcap, or have a chicken sandwich.
Why - If insomnia is bad cut out all caffeine, read the label as caffeine can bin trendy vitamin waters, chocolate, and even coffee yogurts. Eating a big dinner keeps the stomach churning away working on the overload. Eat a big breakfast and lunch then a small dinner. The nightcap works the opposite as it interferes with our important REM sleep.
When You're SAD - Night drivers could have more of a problem with not getting enough sunlight. Interesting on this is that if you starting eating carbs and you have a hard time stopping what you might really be craving is protein. Shifting the balance to more protein les carbs raises dopamine without carbs' insulin rush, so your blood sugar remains steady, and your mood stays even.
When your feeling Dull - Time for a coffee break. The caffeine in your cuppa joe effectively short -circuits a never chemical called adenosine that blocs your energy boosting brain chemicals them to give you a healthy rush. This only happens up to a point and to much caffeine has the opposite effect.
When You're Depressed - eat more FISH. Evidence is showing that omega-3 fatty acids may help ease depression symptoms. We can get omega-3 in a fish oil supplement or by eating salmon, shrimp, flounder, farmed catfish, croaker, haddock and mid Atlantic Blue Crab.
When You're Irritable - Feeling snappish? Put down the java, and away the bear claw right now!
If you have a short fuse and are depressed, cut out caffeine and sugar for about two weeks. Caffeine is a stimulate for some people, but it make others irritable, especially if they are all ready depressed.
Way beyond tired - This might require a doctors visit... This is also one of the first signs of an iron deficiency and anemia, the cause not getting enough iron in the food we eat. As good as beans, grains, and veggies are for you, the form of iron they provide is weak and hard to absorb. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that vegetarians absorb only 10% of the iron in their diet, while a diet that contains some lean meat, poultry, or seafood. This statement really surprised me: Animal protein not only contains more iron, it's a special form called heme that your body absorbs better than it does the iron from plants such as spinach.
When all else fails wash away fatigue with a glass of water.
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.